Dessert Report

As someone who loves to play chemist in the kitchen, I have a love/hate relationship with popsicles. I love all the different flavors and cool concoctions but have yet to find a holder that I love. Plastic stick? Wooden one? Ew. I'm better off making granita because I want to use a spoon! One year I made lightsaber holders for those little plastic popsicles you can buy which work great but I don't love the plastic... or the store-bought popsicles all that much, either!

I'd love to know what you use for the "stick" as well as what you're making! This list of 40+ ideas was shared with me today and wow, they look good. Strawberry flavors are my favorite but honestly I don't see one I wouldn't try. Is there a bad fruit in the world, really?

What kinds of popsicles are you making? Share your favorite recipes and methods in the chat!

When we travel, we usually plan out a special place or two to eat because that's one of our favorite new experiences. You gotta eat, anyway, and who doesn't love food? Eat This, Not That! just released a list of the best dessert in every state and now I'm ready for a cross-country road trip!

Some of these desserts really surprised me. California's dessert, for example, is a Japanese cheesecake. In Colorado, it's a candy sculpture, and Georgia has a popcorn sundae. Ever heard of Scotcheroos? How about chocolate crabs?

What dessert is your state known for? Would you agree that it's the best in your state? Share some of your favorites in the chat.

When you want a quick cake and don't feel like baking a whole one (or don't have enough people around to consume the rest), a mug cake is perfect. It's also great because you can add only what you want into the cake, making it as personal as you like.

Hungry Girl has a great easy cake that only requires two ingredients! In just a couple of minutes you can mix yogurt and cake mix for a quick, easy cake.  She has a bunch of other mug cake recipes, too.

As someone who like to cut my sugar, I like to make quick cakes with almond or coconut flour. It's not much more work and cooks just as fast! You do have to make sure to let them cool. I often skip a frosting or topping, but you could top with sugar-free frosting, homemade whipped cream (which you can make without sugar, too), fresh fruit or whatever you like.

There are also mug cakes on the market for those days when you might be out of ingredients! It's nice to have them in the pantry waiting, especially after a rough day. You just add water to most of them.

What's your go-to fast cake recipe? Share it in the chat.

Most people love some form of ice cream, even if it's just frozen bananas. (Frozen grapes are more my thing!) But when you go out for ice cream, there seem to be two camps of people: the people who get the same flavors at the same places year after year, and the people who set out to try new, adventurous flavors or create their own at home as it suits them.

There's nothing wrong with either camp and I really think many of us belong to both, but many people just haven't tried the fun ice cream hacks that others know. I have friends who introduced me to chopping up Halloween candy for shakes and ice cream. Wow, what a life-changer! I also started trying local creameries who make their own flavors, including "boozy" flavors with herbs, spices and even hot honey. WOW. It's often like nothing you've ever tasted.

My own personal hack is to out vanilla vanilla. I love vanilla ice cream but I add a ton of vanilla everything to it, from graham crackers to Nilla Wafers or Golden Oreos (yes, Cold Stone Creamery is my friend!) to make it EXTRA VANILLA! Try it with sweet cream or cake batter for a fun twist.

What is your favorite ice cream hack or flavor? Share it in the chat!