Sometimes it takes the mind of an 8-year-old boy to come up with a brilliant idea.

J.M. Hirsch, AP Food EditorSometimes it takes the mind of an 8-year-old boy to come up with a brilliant idea. At least when it comes to ice cream.
My son and I had just left a Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop and then he got really quiet for a moment, which generally is just a pre-storm calm.
"We need to make our ice cream and sell it this summer," Parker began with rapid-fire excitement. "We can make all sorts of varieties like red-velvet cake and chocolate-eclair and snickerdoodle and chocolate with chocolate pretzels and dark chocolate bits and ..."
His imagination was sparked and by the time we got back to the car he had asked for my phone so he could type out the list of flavours we would be selling.
But his wasn't the only imagination sparked, because I'm always looking for excuses to get children into the kitchen. Do-it-yourself ice cream had all the makings of aperfect kid-friendly kitchen project for summer.
However, neither I nor mostparents have the time (nor kids the patience) to truly make ice cream from scratch. As my son had so wonderfully demonstrated, the fun isn't in making the ice cream base, but in testing all manner of whacky-delicious things you can flavour it with.
The solution? Doctored ice cream.
It works like this: Buy a pint of ice cream, then soften it either by leaving it on the counter for 15 to 20 minutes, or nuking it for 15 to 20 seconds.
Scoop it into a really big bowl, then add whatever mix-ins do it for you. Mix well, then either serve immediately as soft serve, or transfer to a container, press plastic wrap directly on to the surface and freeze until firm.
The beauty of this approach is that it lets you focus on the fun part. You can also turn it into a fun family activity in which everyone makes a flavour, then everyone can share and compare.
A few tips for making great doctored ice creams:
- Start with quality ice cream in basic flavours (vanilla, chocolate, mint, coffee, etc).
- Choose mix-ins that either are or can be cut or broken into bite-size pieces.
- Go for contrast with your mix-ins, something crunchy (such as pretzels) with something soft (such as marshmallow).
- Think beyond sweet (potato chips, corn chips, peanuts, cashews, wasabi peas, etc).
- Don't let the ice cream soften too much. Aim for soft-serve consistency, then add your mix-ins.
To get you started on a summer of ice cream creations, I'm sharing three of the many variations my son dreamed up.
Rice Krispies-treatice cream
Start to finish: 25 minutes, plus refreezing
Servings: 4
1 pint vanilla ice cream
¹/² cup marshmallow Fluff
3 Rice Krispies treats (if home-made, about 2-by-3-inches each), cut into small chunks
Method
Soften the ice cream by either leaving it at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes, or microwaving it for 15 to 20 seconds. Scoop the entire pint into a large bowl. Add the fluff and mix until it is swirled through the ice cream. Add the chunks of Rice Krispies treats and stir until thoroughly mixed into the ice cream.
Transfer the ice cream to a quart-size food-storage container. Press plastic wrap directly on to the surface of the ice cream, then place in the freezer until firm, about one hour.
Snickerdoodle red-velvet ice cream
Start to finish: 25 minutes, plus refreezing
Servings: 4
1 pint vanilla ice cream
2 large snickerdoodle cookies, broken into chunks
2 frosted red-velvet cupcakes, cut into chunks
Method
Soften the ice cream as in recipe above. Once the ice cream is soft, scoop the entire pint into a large bowl. Add the snickerdoodles and mix well. Gently stir in the chunks of cupcake.
Transfer the ice cream to a quart-size food-storage container. Press plastic wrap directly on to the surface of the ice cream, then place in the freezer until firm, about one hour.