Cherry Almond Coconut Deliciousness

We have been experiencing some incredible heat for the last few weeks.  The result: my ice cream consumption (and accordingly, production) has doubled!  It had been several batches since I had made frozen yogurt, so I decided to go the fro-yo route this time.  I saw a recipe on Smitten Kitchen for cherry, almond, coconut frozen yogurt and was immediately sold.  I drooled just looking at the picture! As luck would have it, I had a half-used can of coconut milk in the fridge as well as some cherries that desperately needed to be eaten soon.  I just halved the SK recipe, and voila!  A perfect mid-afternoon snack for a toasty day.  It immediately cools you down!

Cherry Almond Coconut Frozen Yogurt
Recipe slightly adapted* and halved from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups Greek yogurt (I used Wallaby Organic because I think it has the most divine smooth and creamy texture)
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar**
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons cherries, pitted and chopped
• 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk

Directions:

1. Mix together all ingredients.  Stir until all the sugar is dissolved.
2. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
3. Freeze according to the directions of your ice cream maker.

*I was going to follow the recipe entirely, but as I was halving it, I had a mental math lapse.  The original recipe called for 3/4 cup chopped cherries and 3/4 cup sugar.  Didn't you think 3/4 cups divided in two was 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons?  I realized my mistake only after I added the cherries to the yogurt but before I added the sugar, thank goodness!  It was a happy mistake in the end...the more cherries the better I say!

**Next time, I'll just put in 1/4 cup.  It wasn't too sweet like this, but I think I would have preferred it more tart.

New favorite way to serve ice cream: a coffee cup!  The handle makes everything better: you don't end up warming/melting the ice cream with your hand and/or freezing your hand holding the cup!

Mmm soo refreshing!

The only problem with this recipe (or maybe our intense freezer) is that you need to wait upwards of 20 minutes for the fro-yo to thaw before you can serve it.  Next time I make fro-yo (obviously it won't be this exact recipe because I try never to make the same thing twice), I'm going to employ my fix-all solution: cognac.  This will lower the freezing point a bit and should lower the time it takes the fro-yo to go from the freezer to the bowl to the belly!