My Cookbook Santa rocks! Ice cream is both my favorite dessert, and one of my favorite things to make. My Santa came through with an awesome book of ice cream recipes called Scoop Adventures: The Best Ice Cream in the 50 States.

I just got it today, and I've already marked a handful of recipes that are a must-try, and a dozen more that sound super appealing. There are so many varieties! Some that stood out to me right away:

Balsamic Fig Ice Cream

Fennel Ice Cream with Blood Orange Sauce

Rosemary Honey Walnut Ice Cream

Peach Honey Habenero Ice Cream

Chai Pink Peppercorn Ice Cream

The photos are mouthwatering, and the recipes are genius; deceptively simple, but with really inspiring flavor combinations.

AND my Santa also sent a perfect ice cream scoop: solid construction, anti-freeze in the handle, and a wide mouth for easy scooping and hand-packing. I simply had to test it out (you know, for science), so I immediately used it to serve up some of the salted caramel gelato from Trader Joe's that we have in the freezer. Can confirm; scoop works as advertised.

Thank you so very much for everything, SwissMss!