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Looking for fun ways to beat the summer heat? These delicious Cherry Pickin’ Chocolate Hearts will be a crowd pleaser for sure!

Whew…summer is HOT here in Florida!  Don’t get me wrong, I really love living here, but this time of year we’re always looking for fun ways to beat the summer heat!  Luckily I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve to keep the kids entertained and cool at the same time.

10 Awesome Ways To Beat The Summer Heat

1. Make a delicious Blue Bunny® ice cream recipe – I highly recommend the Blue Bunny® Cherry Pickin’ Chocolate™ Hearts (see recipe below)
2. Jump in the pool – Need I say more?  Besides ice cream, is there any better way to cool off in the summer?  If you don’t have a pool in your backyard, your kids will have just as much fun in a plastic kiddie pool!
3. Play “Break The Ice” – Freeze small toys inside of ice cubes and let the kids race to see who can set their toy free first.  They can use their hands, sit on them or even try breaking them open.
4. Run around in the sprinkler – This is one of the easiest ways to keep your kids cooled off and entertained.  Just turn on the sprinkler and watch them go!
5. Have a water balloon fight – Filling the balloons may take longer than the actual water balloon fight but the kids have so much fun that it’s totally worth it!
6. Go puddle jumping – What kid doesn’t love to do this?  We have a lot of afternoon showers this time of year and when they’re over, my four year old loves splashing around in the puddles!
7. Head out to the water park – We’re lucky to live within driving distance of a really great water park in Tampa and this summer we even sprung for season passes.  If you live near a water park, it might be worth it to spend the money so that you can go all summer long!
8. Throw an ice cream sundae party – Invite some friends over and let the kids make their own ice cream sundaes!  Put out different Blue Bunny flavors, toppings, sprinkles, whipped cream and cherries and let the kids go crazy!
9. Have a water gun war – Make some forts out of whatever you have on hand and see who can out-soak the other!
10. Beach trip – I know this doesn’t work for everyone but if you’re lucky enough to live close to a beach, splashing around in those waves is the perfect way to cool off!

The best part for us is that in the summer we can do these things as a family!  My hubby works most weekends and so his days off usually fall on weekdays.  That means that during the school year we rarely get a full “family day” together.  While I don’t always love his schedule, I’ve gotten used to it and it also means that our family days are even more meaningful to us.  That’s another reason we love summer so much.  Since school is out, there are a lot more “family days” and we can really enjoy our time together…even if we’re just grilling out and playing in the pool!

Since we had a family day coming up, I thought it would be fun to make some special ice cream treats!  You can never go wrong with ice cream but in the summer it almost becomes a necessity!  First thing on the agenda…head to Walmart to pick up some Blue Bunny® ice cream and toppings.

I love Blue Bunny’s new clear packaging. When I saw the flavor swirls in the Blue Bunny® Cherry Pickin’ Chocolate™, I knew it would be awesome!  I couldn’t stop at just one flavor though because they all looked so good!  Since my oldest daughter doesn’t like chocolate (crazy, right?), I bought her the Blue Bunny® Vanilla.  My little one has been begging to try some strawberry ice cream so it was only fair that we picked up the Blue Bunny® Double Strawberry for her too.  Of course, when you have ice cream, you need a yummy topping to go with it.  I’ve always loved Smucker’s Magic Shell Chocolate Flavored topping and it’s a fun, inexpensive way to make your ice cream just a little bit fancier.  I couldn’t pass the display without adding a bottle to our cart!

Have you tried the new Cherry Pickin’ Chocolate? It’s seriously my new favorite ice cream flavor…it is sooo good!  If you like cherries and chocolate, you are definitely going to want to try this!  I used it to make some Cherry Pickin’ Chocolate Hearts. What better way to show my family that I love them, right?

I grabbed my heart shaped silicone cups, gave the ice cream a couple minutes to soften, then filled each cup halfway.  First I conducted a few taste tests, for quality control of course!

I froze them again until they were completely solid, then added a layer of Magic Shell Chocolate Topping!

Next, it was time for one more layer of ice cream.

Finally I topped them off with a little more chocolate, sprinkles and of course, a cherry on top!

Now all that was left to do is eat and enjoy!

Blue Bunny® Cherry Pickin' Chocolate™ Hearts

Yield: 8

Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Beat the summer heat with these delicious ice cream treats featuring Blue Bunny's Cherry Pickin' Chocolate flavor!

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Ingredients

• Blue Bunny® Cherry Pickin' Chocolate™ Ice Cream
• Smucker's Magic Shell Chocolate Flavored Topping
• Sprinkles
• Cherries, cut in half

Instructions

1. Pull the ice cream from the freezer and let soften for a couple minutes
2. Fill your cups halfway and place back in the freeze to harden
3. Once hardened, remove them from the freezer and add a layer of Magic Shell Chocolate Refreeze
4. Fill the cups the remainder of the way with softened ice cream and refreeze once more
5. Finally, drizzle Magic Shell Chocolate over the top of each, adding sprinkles and a 1/2 cherry.
6. Enjoy immediately or refreeze for later

What are your favorite ways to beat the summer heat?  If you said ice cream, you’ll definitely want to check out the rest of these delicious Blue Bunny Ice Cream recipes!

To find out more about Blue Bunny Ice Cream and their delicious new flavors, check them out on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.