Strawberry Sherbet

You know the kind - the shiny, modern little shops that have popped up all over the place in the last few years. They lure you in with their self-serve stations and their topping bars loaded with oodles of tempting bites, and before you know it, you've got yourself a problem. {And a $10 cup of yogurt.}

Anyway, it all started out quite innocently. A new fro-yo place opened up last year in our neighborhood, so we decided to check it out.

As much as I love food in general, I'm pretty boring when it comes to frozen treats - single flavor, no toppings, just plain ol' tart-yet-creamy frozen yogurt deliciousness. Steve, on the other hand, gets pretty interesting with his add-ons: Gummy Bears. Granola. Nuts. Sometimes independent of each other, and sometimes all in the same serving. {Shudder.}

But the beauty about this yogurt utopia was that there was something for everyone.

Soon, we discovered that our friends had stumbled upon the same shop and we all found that it was causing some strange new behaviors that we hadn't experienced before: Mid-week fro-yo runs, excuses to be in that area so we could stop in and see if there were any new flavors, signing up for annoying text messages just so we could receive 10% off. It was madness, I tell you.

To top it all off {ha! No pun intended.}, we were all developing signature approaches to designing our frozen creations. I started getting more adventurous and learned that by combining several flavor combos I could develop my very own "blend" - Vanilla, Pineapple, Coconut for a tropical treat. Chocolate, Peanut Butter, Salted Caramel for something that tasted like a liquid candy bar. Cookies & Cream, Mint, and Milk Chocolate for a faux Girl Scout Cookie. 

One friend would swirl the toppings into his yogurt for something similar to a Blizzard. Another would spend a good chunk of time determining the order, flavor combos, and proper yogurt-to-topping ratio for his own version of a parfait. We were all out of control.

Next thing I knew, we were self-proclaimed yogurt connoisseurs, scoffing at other shops we visited for their lack of toppings; acting like modern day Goldilocks with our, "This one's too tart/not creamy enough/too sweet/too icy/just right."

I knew enough was enough. I had to find something to replace the habit at home where we weren't paying nearly $5 a pop.

And then it happened -- Strawberry Sherbet. This is an easy {EASY} recipe that doesn't require cooking, includes fresh strawberries, and rounds out the sweetness with a nice tang from buttermilk. You can add your toppings in the comfort of your home however you like them without judgement from other fro-yo freaks.

We still love our frozen yogurt from time to time, but I had to stop the insanity. I'm still pretty sure that self-serve frozen yogurt is laced with addictive substances, but now that I've learned how to make this fresh Strawberry Sherbet, I can take the edge off when I need to.

Strawberry Sherbet
Adapted from Eating Well

2 cups strawberries, fresh or frozen*
½ cup granulated sugar
2 ½ cups buttermilk
½ cup half & half
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Pinch of salt

1. In a medium bowl, sprinkle strawberries with sugar and let sit for 10-15 minutes until sugar starts to form a syrup.

2. In a blender or food processor, combine strawberries and sugar and blend until smooth. {*I used frozen berries and I blended them with sugar to form an icy strawberry mixture, which I then allowed to sit at room temperature until it was a syrupy liquid.}

3. Using a fine mesh strainer,  strain strawberry mixture into a large bowl, pressing to retrieve juice, leaving pulp & seeds behind. Discard pulp.

3. Add buttermilk, half & half, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and salt to strawberry mixture, and whisk together to combine. {If the mixture is not cold, refrigerate for 2-3 hours until chilled. This will speed up the process once added to the ice cream maker.}

4. Pour the mixture into the canister of an ice cream maker, and use according to manufacturer's directions. {It took approximately 20-25 minutes to get a soft serve consistency.}

5. Scoop sherbet into a freezer-safe container and freeze until desired scooping consistency is achieved.

6. Top with your favorite add-ons! {Or not!}

*Note: This sherbet gets pretty hard to scoop once it's frozen. For easier scooping, leave on the countertop at room temp for 20-30 minutes before serving.