Homemade Nutty Cone

A classic treat that might remind you of an ice cream truck or a quick treat on a trip... these were much easier to make than I thought although it takes some time and patience!




Ingredients:

1. Sugar cones
2. 7 oz semi-sweet chocolate (chips or bars)
3. 2 Tbs coconut oil
4. Vanilla ice cream (or any other ice cream of your choice - I made one with coffee, strawberry and vanilla which was really good!)
5. Crushed salted peanuts (or almonds or both!)

Supplies:

Parchment paper
Cups to stand the cones in OR an empty egg carton, turned upside down, with holes cut into it for the cones to stand in

Directions:

1. Make the chocolate "magic shell":

In a double boiler, melt chocolate and coconut oil together until smooth. If you don't have a double boiler, do what I do: find a metal mixing bowl that sits right into the top of a small saucepan so that it's secure and covers the entire opening of the saucepan. Put about an inch of water in the saucepan and bring to a simmer. Put the bowl above it with the chocolate and coconut oil inside. When it's smooth, turn off the heat and leave it on the stovetop.

2. Take your ice cream out of the freezer so it will soften slightly.

3. Coat the inside of the cones:

Using a small spoon, pour a small amount into each cone, rotating and tilting so it covers the inside of the cone. You will probably need about 2 teaspoons per cone. Make sure the bottom of the inside of the cone has chocolate in it (this will be really yummy for those last bites!).

Stand each cone in a holder or cup and place in freezer until solid, about ten minutes.

4. Remove each cone and fill with ice cream. Tear of a strip of parchment paper, cut in half, and wrap around the cone so that it's tight on the cone and extends about 1 inch above the top of the cone. Secure with a piece of clear tape. Add some ice cream to the top of the cone almost up to the top of the parchment paper.

Return to freezer. Repeat for each cone. Leave in freezer for about an hour, or longer if your ice cream was very soft.

5. Remove cone from freezer and spoon chocolate sauce on top so it covers the surface of the ice cream. Immediately sprinkle your crushed nuts on top to cover. You want to do this right away before the chocolate hardens, which happens quickly!

Return to freezer. Repeat for each cone. Leave in freezer for at least 15 minutes more.

6. To serve. Gently remove parchment paper from each cone and enjoy!

Sources:
"Magic" Chocolate Shell recipe from: http://www.eatthelove.com/2011/03/wordless-recipe-how-to-make-own-ice-cream-magic-chocolate-hard-shell/

Technique for putting this all together adapted from: http://kitchenbouquet.blogspot.com/2011/07/welcome-to-ice-cream-social-2011.html?m=1