At the end of last week the DC metro area saw an inch or two of snow!  The most for the year so far!  I LOVE it when it snows and I wish we got more than that around here.  I grew up in this area and remember getting some large (of this area, definitely nothing compared to New England or Michigan!) snows!  We would be outside playing all morning or until we were soaked to the skin and then we only came in long enough to change into dry clothing and go out again!

I remember sweat pants, snow pants, gloves, hats, jackets, etc hanging over the radiators for hours!  And they were so nice and warm when it was time to put them on again!  Just like coming out of the dryer!

We really didn’t get much snow at all, but it was enough to bundle the kids up and take them out!  I think it took us about 1 hour to get layers on (since it was only pushing 20 degrees).  As I was putting them on Aisling was pulling them off.  Finally I just did them one at a time and sent them on their way! 😉

They were out there for about an hour or a little more and were working hard to shovel the sidewalk!  Earlier in the morning they kept reminding me they weren’t going out to play, cause they had work to do!  So fun to see them working hard!

So after all their work I thought a snow day with out hot chocolate wouldn’t be the same!  So we heated some raw milk, added some raw cacao powder and poured in some maple syrup.  Mmmm it was yummy and nice and warm in the tummy!

I also brought a whole bowl of snow inside and put it in the freezer without the boys even noticing!  After lunch I asked them if they wanted a treat!  What kid wouldn’t want a treat?  I told them I was going to make some snow ice cream!  That peaked their interest!

I have fond memories of my Dad making it for us!  I remember getting so excited about it and then thinking it wasn’t really all that great!  I didn’t have a recipe, but thought we could probably figure it out!  We added a little of this and a bit of that and it was fantastic!  They really enjoyed it and it made the day all the more memorable and special!

Here is what we came up with!  Hopefully if we don’t have another good snow, maybe you will and will have a chance to give it a try!  Just make sure you steer clear of that yellow snow!

Snow Ice Cream
4 cups snow
⅓ cup [amazon_link id=”B001E5DZIO” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]sucanat[/amazon_link]
1.5 tsp vanilla
1-2 TBSP milk/coconut milk/almond milk/coconut milk

Mix it all together.  Add the milk (or milk substitute) a little at a time to make sure it doesn’t get too wet.  Just add enough to get it to the desired consistency.

I didn’t really want to use the [amazon_link id=”B001E5DZIO” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]sucanat[/amazon_link].  I have it on hand to make kombucha with, but don’t really like cooking with it.  I just prefer to use other more natural options.  I thought about honey or maple syrup, but knew it would get too hard once adding it to the cold snow.  I also thought about heating the milk and mixing in the honey or maple syrup, but then I’d have to wait for the milk to cool back down again before mixing it in.  I was impatient and didn’t want to wait that long.  So we just took the easy route and used the [amazon_link id=”B001E5DZIO” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]sucanat[/amazon_link].

Do you have a different recipe?  Another ingredient to add that makes it more to your liking?  I’d love to hear about it!