S’mores No Churn Ice Cream -- The Fire, the Stars, and Something Sweet After

Fourth of July. Camping in the Crazies — or the Beartooths some years — far enough from town that the fireworks are just a glow on the horizon. Mom and I cooked over the fire. Steak, biscuits, eggs, percolator coffee. The stars were everything.

Patrick on the porch in the afternoon. Coffee in the good cup. The cottonwoods.

Beef burgers in the backyard. The standard. Eighty-twenty grind. Cheddar from the local creamery.

Tomorrow I move the herd to the upper pasture. That is the next thing.

The Musselshell was clear Sunday. Could see trout in the deeper pools. Did not fish. Just watched.

The wood pile is half what it was at Thanksgiving. I will split another cord on Saturday. The cord will be ready by next winter. The wood always is.

Worked on the truck Saturday afternoon. Plugs and wires. Two hours. Hands black with grease. Came in. Showered. Ate.

Mended the chute hinge Wednesday. Welder was finicky. Got it on the third try. Patrick used to do this. I do it now.

The Tuesday Roundup AA meeting was eleven this week — three new guys from a referral. The room was full. The coffee was strong.

Took a walk to the river before supper Tuesday. The cottonwoods were silver. The water was running. I did not think much. I just walked.

The barn cats are doing their job. Down to one mouse this week, in the feed shed. The cats brought it to the porch as proof. They are professionals.

A reader emailed about the elk chili recipe. Asked what beer to use if non-alcoholic was not available. I wrote back: any beer is wrong if you don't drink. Use stock.

A neighbor's heifer was choking on a corn cob. I drove over with my emergency kit. Cleared the cob with a length of garden hose. The heifer recovered. The neighbor brought a pie the next day.

Wrote a blog post Friday night. The first one in two months. About making chili in a snowstorm. Short. Practical. Posted it. Forgot about it.

Three days of horses this week. The work is meditative. The horses know. The owners pay. The cycle holds.

Truck started cold Tuesday. Twelve below. Battery is the original. I will replace it before next winter. I always say I will replace it before next winter. I never have.

Drove to Billings for parts Friday. Stopped at the cemetery on the way home. Stood for ten minutes. Came home.

Hauled three bull calves to the auction yard Wednesday. Got a fair price. Came home. Counted the cash. Put it in the ranch account.

Mr. Whelan from down the road came over Saturday with a story about a horse he sold in 1979. The story took an hour. I listened. He needed someone to tell it to.

Hank, the dog, herded the chickens by accident. He apologized in the way dogs apologize — eyes down, tail low. The chickens were unimpressed.

Listened to the cattle market report on AM radio while I worked the shop. Beef is up. Feed is up. The math is the math.

Drove the back fence line Saturday. Two posts down from elk. Replaced them in the morning. The fence held the rest of the week.

Storm came through Friday night. Thunder. The dog hid under the bed. The kids slept through it. The cattle bunched up by the windbreak. Standard.

The burgers are the standard — eighty-twenty, cheddar, done — and they don’t need explaining. But I keep thinking about the Fourth of July, the fire in the Crazies, the way the dark out there is a different kind of dark. S’mores always belonged to that fire, and this recipe brings those same flavors somewhere you don’t need a flame — no machine, no fuss, just the freezer doing the work while you split wood or pull a shift or sit with the dog until the storm passes. It’s the right kind of dessert for a week like this one.

S’mores No Churn Ice Cream

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 0 min | Total Time: 6 hr 15 min (includes freeze time) | Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream, cold
• 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup mini marshmallows, plus more for topping
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or roughly chopped chocolate
• 3/4 cup graham cracker pieces (about 4 full sheets, broken into rough chunks)
• 2 tablespoons hot fudge or chocolate sauce, for swirling
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Whip the cream. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat the cold heavy cream on medium-high until stiff peaks form, about 3–4 minutes. Do not over-beat.
2. Make the base. In a large bowl, stir together the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract, and pinch of salt. Gently fold in the whipped cream in two additions, keeping as much air in the mixture as possible.
3. Fold in the mix-ins. Add the mini marshmallows, chocolate chips, and graham cracker pieces to the cream mixture. Fold just until evenly distributed.
4. Layer and swirl. Pour half the mixture into a 9x5-inch loaf pan or freezer-safe container. Drizzle half the hot fudge over the top. Add the remaining cream mixture, then drizzle the rest of the fudge on top. Use a butter knife to swirl gently, 3–4 strokes.
5. Top and freeze. Scatter a few extra marshmallows and graham cracker pieces over the surface. Cover tightly with plastic wrap pressed directly onto the ice cream. Freeze for at least 6 hours, or overnight.
6. Serve. Let the pan sit on the counter for 5 minutes before scooping. Serve straight from the loaf pan.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 390 | Protein: 5g | Fat: 24g | Carbs: 40g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 130mg