HOMEMADE DRUMSTICKS

INGREDIENTS:

. 1 3/4 cups chocolate chips, divided
. 12 sugar cones
. Ice Cream, in desired flavors (about 1/4 cup per cone)
. 1/4 cup vegetable oil
. 1 1/3 cups sprinkles or chopped nuts for topping

Instructions:

1. Gather your supplies. You’ll need small glasses or containers for each cone. Tall 2 ounce shot glasses are perfect for this, depending on the size of your sugar cones.

2. Place your sugar cones in their holders.

3. Place 1/2 cup chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Heat on high power in 30 second increments, stirring between each, until smooth. Place a small amount of the melted chocolate in the bottom of each cone. I used a drinking straw to push the chocolate down to the bottom of the cone. Freeze the cones for 5 minutes.

4. While the cones are freezing, let your ice cream warm up a bit on the counter.

5. Remove cones from the freezer. Fill each with ice cream, making sure to have a rounded scoop at the top. I found it best to make at most 2 before returning the cones to the freezer. Use your favorite ice cream flavor!

6. Freeze the cones for at least 30 minutes, until the ice cream is re-hardened.

7. Place remaining 1 1/4 cups chocolate chips in another microwave safe bowl. Add the vegetable oil. Heat on high in 30 second increments, stirring between each, until smooth. Transfer the chocolate to a short drinking glass for easy dipping.

8. Set out your sprinkles or chopped nuts, near the sink or garbage.

9. Working in batches, remove 2 cones from the freezer. Dip upside down in the chocolate and tap off the excess. Hold upright and sprinkle with sprinkles or nuts, over the garbage can to keep the mess to a minimum. Place the cones back in the freezer.

10. Once the topping is hardened, place the cones in a airtight container. These are best served within a few days so the cone doesn’t get soggy.

Almond Roca

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 Tbsp light corn syrup
1/2 lb butter (2 sticks - NO substitutes!)
1/2 lb. slivered almonds (2 cups)
1/2 lb. bar of regular Hershey's dark chocolate (7 oz okay)

Method:

1: Melt butter with sugar, syrup and water in a pan (such as a large non-stick frying pan) on medium to medium-high temperature. Stir continuously with a wooden spoon. When butter is melted, add the almonds.

2: When mixture comes to a rolling boil, set your timer for a minimum of 10 minutes and keep stirring (no more than 15 minutes). The mixture will thicken and turn darker in color. The almonds will roast. Keep stirring and cooking until you hear it crackle. If you don't cook it long enough it will not harden, so keep stirring and listen for the crackling sound.
Elise's note: I have found it very hard to distinguish between the boiling sound and the crackling sound in this recipe. A better guideline for me is by color. When the mixture turns a warm amber color, at about 11 or 12 minutes into the boiling, that's the time to pour it out. Wait too long and it will burn.
If you try to make this, please read all the comments listed below. It's actually trickier than one would think.

3: When the mixture crackles, pour the mixture out onto a large cookie sheet and spread it as thin as possible with a fork. While it is still hot, break up the chocolate into chunks and distribute it over the almond mixture and let it melt. Spread it evenly on the top.

4: Let it cool to room temperature. When cool you can lift the whole thing off the pan and break into small pieces.