I can remember the first time I ever had a root beer float. I wondered  ”what is this creamy, delicious dream, combining my favorite beverage with my favorite dessert?” Well, as it turns out, you can make an adult version of this tasty treat! I called over some (all-too-willing) friends, grabbed some St. Patty’s style beers and plenty of Tillamook Ice Cream and conducted an experiment about what makes the best beer float!

First up: Tillamook Vanilla Bean Ice Cream with Hard Cider
Independently, I love both of these ingrdients…but combined, they were amazing! With equal parts cider and ice cream, this tasted just like apple pie a la mode. The smooth cream brought out the tart, green apple flavor in the cider. It would be great for a summer treat (or a summer-dreaming treat) on a front porch. This one was my favorite of the bunch.

Next on the agenda: Tillamook Mountain Huckleberry Ice Cream with Red Ale
We thought that the hoppy flavor of a Red Ale would complement the sweet fruit in the ice cream, and we were right! Since the base of the ice cream is vanilla, it leveled out the hops to create a combo that tasted surprisingly like maple and nuts, with just a hint of fruit. It was a berry good beer float.

Finally: Tillamook Mudslide Ice Cream with Guinness Beer
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, we decided to make a float with Ireland’s token beer: Guinness! We combined this beer with Tillamook Mudslide Ice Cream. Guinness is less carbonated, so the experience was a little smoother. I loved the Mudslide Ice Cream in this, especially because the chocolate bits tasted just a little salty! Unfortunately, most of the chocolate bits sunk to the bottom of the glass. This float was full of really rich flavors.

What kind of beer float would you make!? For more ideas (and some kid-friendly ones!), check out our favorite root beer float recipes.

By Katie

Make a wishlist for Loafy and you might get what you wished for! This is the last weekend to enter the As You Wishlist contest, where you can be randomly selected to have your wishlist from the Tillamook Shop fulfilled. Just hop over to the Tillamook Shop and add items to your wishlist to enter! Hurry – the last day to enter is this Sunday, December 16!

By Katie

Caramelized Sweet Potato, Garlic, and Rosemary Mac & Cheese

It’s one of my favorite days of the whole year: National Mac & Cheese Day! Many people think there’s just one way to celebrate this tasty day but oh how wrong they are. Sure, you can make traditional mac & cheese in a pan – my favorite being this Caramelized Sweet Potato, Garlic, and Rosemary Mac & Cheese – but that’s just one of the many forms mac & cheese can take.

There is no limit to creativity as these yummy mac & cheese dishes show!

• Who doesn’t like the idea of quick and easy dinners? Put everything in a crock pot and ta-da, mac & cheese from Paula Deen.
• The best surprises often come when people find something they know and love in a new form like these mac & cheese muffins.
• Is there such a thing as leftover mac & cheese? Not in my house! But if you find yourself with leftovers or you put some aside ahead of time, these mac & cheese balls make for the best appetizers.
• I love grilled cheese! I love mac & cheese! Therefore, I’m sure they are tasty together. It turns out, I’m right! See what I mean with this Cheesy Mac and Rib Melt.
• You can never go wrong with a flaky pie crust. When you turn mac & cheese into a pot pie you get one perfect way to celebrate national Mac & Cheese Day!

With the big day coming up on July 14, how are you going to celebrate National Mac & Cheese Day? I wonder, can you make mac & cheese into a dessert?

By Kelly

Give your taste buds a sweet and salty surprise by mixing up a batch of this not-so-traditional fondue!

CHEESY CHOCOLATE FONDUE

¼ cup Tillamook Unsalted Butter
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
½ cup powdered sugar, sifted
1/3 cup Tillamook Special Reserve Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon almond extract
½ cup milk, as needed

In a saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Gradually add cocoa and sugar, and whisk until smooth. Add shredded cheese, and stir well. Stir in cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and almond extract. Gradually add milk until fondue is of desired consistency.

Serve with bite size pieces of brownie, pound cake, angel food cake, fruit, pretzels, graham crackers or any other delicious dippers you can think of.

Have any fun fondue flavor combinations in your recipe box?

Photo: Flickr/Wendi Kelly (Creative Commons)

By Candace

Yay! That was fun! I’ve got some super talented winners of our Till-La-La-La-Mook Holiday Song Video Contest to share with you. Remember our winning song and video challenge?

These videos definitely got us in the holiday spirit here at Tillamook HQ. And the winners are:

First place: Valerie Johnson

Second place: Shannon Winkle

Third place: Lauren Hasenoehrl (our honorary winner for submitting her own Till-La-La-La-Mook Holiday Song and video)

Enjoy your prizes winners! And don’t forget, you also get to gift the same prize to a favorite friend or family member. Choose wisely…it IS Tillamook ya know! Enjoy!

By Loafy

We’ve all been there. You go to a holiday gathering and forget to bring the host a gift! You know they’ve been getting ready for days cleaning the house and making all the food, but you forgot to pick up a little something on the way. Do things right this year! There’s still time to be fully prepared for Thanksgiving. Host gifts are on sale now on the online store and if you order by noon today (Nov 21), you’ll receive your order in time for Thanksgiving.

The Tillamook 3 Year Vintage White Extra Sharp Wedge, Tillamook Cheese Cookbook, and Deli Sampler Gift Box – all these items and more on sale now!

By Laura

I was just out in Fayette, Missouri celebrating my grandmother’s 95th birthday. Of course no celebration is complete without eating my Gran’s food, or at least her recipes! This is one of my absolute favorite recipes from my grandmother – her famous…

SOUR CREAM COFFEE CAKE

2 sticks Tillamook Unsalted Butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup Tillamook Premium Sour Cream
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup chopped pecans
4 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs, vanilla and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt, then add gently to the creamed mix. Mix well. To prepare the nut mix, combine the chopped pecans, brown sugar and cinnamon.

Grease and flour a bundt pan. Spoon in a layer of batter, then sprinkle with half of the nut mix. Add another layer of batter and nut mix. Finish with a layer of batter. Bake for 1 hour. Don’t forget the coffee!

From my Gran, Lily Haden Nicholl.

Photo Flickr/Erin (Creative Commons)

By Gillian

Who’s in the mood for my cousin’s Chocolate Mole Pumpkin Cupcakes? Made with Tillamook Butter – YUM!

INGREDIENTS for Cupcakes:

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cardamom
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup water
½ teaspoon vanilla
6 tablespoon Tillamook Unsalted Butter
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 ½ cup mini chocolate chips

INGREDIENTS for Frosting:

8 oz cream cheese
¼ cup Tillamook Unsalted Butter
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Have all ingredients at room temperature (especially the butter). Whisk flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, cardamom, nutmeg, ground cloves, and baking powder in a medium-sized bowl and set aside. Combine water and vanilla in a small bowl and set aside. Beat butter in a large bowl until creamy. Gradually add white and brown sugar to the butter. Beat in one egg at a time.  Add pumpkin puree and beat on low speed until just blended. Add the flour in three parts alternating with the water mixture in two parts, beating on low speed. Fold in mini chocolate chips. Bake in regular-sized cupcake forms for 18-22 minutes or in mini-sized cupcake forms for 12-15 minutes.

For the frosting, combine all ingredients in the bowl of a mixer or a food processor. Beat until perfectly smooth and spreadable. Spread over cupcakes once cool. If you are feeling artsy, use a pastry bag with a big star opening on the end and draw a beautiful star and shake confetti sugar all over the top.

My cousin says these are delicious and moist. If you are feeling adventurous, add cayenne to the mix for mole with a kick!

Photo: Flickr/Andrea (Creative Commons)

By Gillian

This recipe is called pound cake for a very good reason — because it takes a pound of each of the main ingredients to make the batter. Whoa! Every Christmas my grandmother, C-mama, would make this pound cake and it was the highlight of the feast. Rich and buttery, it can be served alone, with berries or, even better, Tillamook Old-Fashioned Vanilla Ice Cream. When we were children, we were scolded for making too much noise when the pound cake was in the oven. Too much noise would make the cake fall, C-mama would say. Hmmm? My grandmother was 96 when she passed away and, to this day, it just wouldn’t be Christmas without her pound cake served on a crystal cake plate in the center of the holiday treats. This delicious cake is not for the faint of calories!

C-MAMA’S POUND CAKE

1 pound Tillamook Unsalted Butter, softened
3 1/2 cups of sugar
4 cups flour
10 eggs, separated
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Prepare a tube pan by lining it with greased craft paper. Cream butter and sugar; add beaten egg yolks and lemon juice. Sift dry ingredients together, adding it in thirds to the creamed butter and sugar. Mix well between additions. Beat egg whites until stiff and fold gently into the batter. Bake at 350 degrees until just golden brown, then cover top of cake with a piece of craft paper to prevent scorching. Continue baking until finished, approx. 1 1/2 – 2 hours (you can check doneness with a toothpick — when you can pull it out of the cake clean, it’s ready). Shhhh….remember not to make noise while cake is in the oven.

Photo: Flickr/Lindsey Turner (Creative Commons)

By Jala

Happy National Banana Split Day!

Can a banana split recipe be considered healthy? It does have fruit, after all! Since 1904 when banana splits were first made popular in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, there have been many banana split recipes claiming to be the best. But I don’t think any of them could possibly be better than my favorite banana split recipe, which I’d like to share with you today.

Matt’s Favorite Banana Split Recipe

Start with one banana and slice it hot dog style down the middle. To make things interesting, sprinkle a little sugar on the inside of the banana. Use a torch to brulee the sugar, giving the banana a nice crunch and texture.

The main ingredient in my banana split recipe is, of course, good ice cream… Tillamook! I use a scoop each of three different types: Tillamook Old-Fashioned Vanilla Ice Cream, Tillamook Oregon Strawberry Ice Cream, and Tillamook Mudslide Ice Cream. Now lay your beautiful, bruleed bananas alongside the ice cream scoops.

In my banana split recipe, I use the following toppings, but you can choose whatever you like for your personal taste: crushed pineapple on the Tillamook Old-Fashioned Vanilla Ice Cream, chocolate sauce on the Tillamook Mudslide Ice Cream, and fresh sliced strawberries (substitute a thick puree when fresh strawberries are not available) on the Tillamook Oregon Strawberry Ice Cream. You could also add caramel sauce if you’d like!

Next, top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of walnuts, and maybe some sprinkles (although I don’t usually add them). Finally, I finish this banana split recipe with a maraschino cherry on top!

This banana split recipe has it all – taste, texture, “healthiness” (the fruit!), and tradition. Try it out! Or make up your own banana split recipe with Tillamook Ice Cream and show us how it turned out on our Facebook page.

You can also stop by the Cheese Factory today for a special on our delicious fresh made banana splits and a free sample of Tillamook Banana Split Ice Cream.

Happy National Banana Split Day, everyone!

Image: Flickr/Stevendepolo (please note, it’s not a photo of Matt’s recipe above!)

By Matt