BYO Ice Cream Sundae Social

Ah, summer. The days are long, and the nights can be even longer on weekends. But when you want to hang out with neighbors and friends, chances are you can’t please everyone with the go-to summer dessert of s’mores or root beer floats. Gasp…what?! Believe it or not, I know people who aren’t too fond of either. So…I tried something different at my last get-together. Build-your-own ice cream sundae jars! All you have to do is portion out ice cream into small mason jars (use whatever shape you want) and provide your guests with fun toppings. The jars of ice cream can stay in the freezer until serving time, so guests don’t have to worry about scooping their own/having melting issues.  

Now is that customizable or what? I may have went slightly overboard with the toppings, but hey, I can always keep the leftovers for snacking.

One of the keys to flavor success is making your own sauces. I kept it simple and made a rich hot fudge sauce and a buttery caramel sauce – both homemade and definitely worth the effort.

Another idea- make cookies that can either be crumbled into the ice cream, or sandwiched with the ice cream for a DIY ice cream sandwich. Some of my favorites: Oatmeal Raisin, Chocolate Pixies, or Snickerdoodles.
 
Everyone had an amazing time creating their own combos, and I’ll be honest, there was a bit of competition. Some of the favorite combos of the party? Strawberry ice cream + coconut flakes + dark chocolate-coated crystalized ginger


Salted caramel ice cream + caramel sauce + crushed pretzels + peanut butter M&M’s

Vanilla ice cream + hot fudge + sprinkles + cookie crumbles + crushed malted milk balls

There isn’t a “wrong” way to do this type of party – as long as you have a variety of ice creams and delicious toppings, people are bound to have a winning dessert, customized just for them!

Share your favorite combos by tagging us @landolakesktchn on Instagram. We’d love to see your creations!