Deep Dark Chocolate Frozen Yogurt

Finding out that my new ice cream maker came with a second freezer bowl was a surprise. I decided to make a second frozen concoction (the first was Basil Ice Cream) but to try to make it from ingredients already in my kitchen.

Note that whole milk yogurt does not alway say 'whole milk' on the container. Check the label. If it says "milk" without a percentage of fat (0%, 1% and 2% are most common), it is whole milk.

By happenstance, I had a quart of plain whole milk yogurt in the fridge, originally intended for an Indian curry that I never made because of the heat wave. I didn't have enough frozen fruit on hand to make a fruited frozen yogurt (my favorite), but in the back of the fridge was a partially empty bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips left over from last December's holiday baking.

After consulting A Perfect Scoop, which does not have a recipe for chocolate frozen yogurt, I decided to hack together a recipe of my own, based on two other recipes in the book—Vanilla Frozen Yogurt and Chocolate Sorbet. Here's what I came up with:


1 quart plain whole milk yogurt
1/2 cup Dutch cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate pieces
1 tsp real vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Warm half of the yogurt over a double boiler. Stir in the cocoa powder and sugar and continue stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Next, add the chocolate pieces and stir until they are melted and incorporated into the yogurt-cocoa-sugar yogurt.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the remaining plain yogurt, the vanilla extract, and salt. Stir well.

Move the chocolate yogurt to a large bowl and cover well with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator for several hours, or until the mixture is good and cold.

Once the yogurt has been cooled well in the refrigerator, it will be the consistency of chocolate pudding. Freeze it in your ice cream maker. Once the frozen yogurt reaches soft serve stage, pack it into freezer containers and freeze for another hour or longer in the back of your freezer.

Putting the chocolate yogurt into the ice cream maker.

Delish!

From the Barkery: Sweet Potato Pupsicles

A few summers ago, my dogs and I were on a play date with some other canine friends when their human introduced us to some yogurt-based pupsicles—popsicles for dogs. She had bought them at the grocery store. My dogs loved them, so I decided to start making them at home.

This recipe uses one of my dogs' favorite vegetables--the sweet potato (sometimes known as "yam"). Let's not argue about the differences (if any) between a “sweet potato” and a “yam,” let's just make our furry pals happy!

Ingredients:

• 2 medium large yams
• 1 quart plain low-fat yogurt

Get cooking!

Bake the yams at 350 F for 1 to 1 ½ hours, or until they are very soft. Allow them to cool. Then remove and discard the skins.

Blend together the cooked sweet potatoes and yogurt at high speed until well-incorporated.

Spoon the batter into ice cube trays and freeze.

Makes about 3 trays of (42 individual) dog treats that are also suitable for human consumption (and surprisingly delicious, even with no added salt or sugar, as I can report from personal experience). I usually ask my dogs eat them outside on the cement patio because of the mess. If you decide to let your dogs eat these in the kitchen, be assured that they will lick the floor clean!