Jenn McKinlay: Although, I've lived-in AZ for almost thirty years, I can prove that I am a New Englander through and through. How? Well, I spent my teen years as a waitress at our local Friendly's restaurant, a chain which began as an ice cream stand, founded in 1935 by two brothers, Prestley and Curtis Blake, in Springfield, Massachusetts. You just don't get more Yankee than that. Side note: double-dip cones were 5 cents back then. Can you imagine? Me, neither.
We do not have any Friendly's out west or even in the midwest, much to my dismay, because they have the BEST hot fudge on the planet bar none. Yes, that's a hill I'm prepared to die on. I am not kidding when I say that while I worked at Friendly's I lived on a triple scoop coffee ice cream hot fudge sundae with a mountain of whipped cream and a cherry on top. Every Single Day.
Ingredients:
30 large marshmallows
2/3 cup of milk
1/4 cup of butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 package (12 0z) of semisweet chocolate chips
Directions:
In a medium saucepan, heat the marshmallows, milk, butter, and salt over low-medium heat until the marshmallows and butter fully melt, stir frequently. Add vanilla and chocolate chips, continue stirring until all of the chocolate is melted and the hot fudge is smooth. Serve warm.
Makes 4 cups.
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| Photo from David Calavera on Unsplash |
All right, Reds and Readers, what's on your sundae? Hot fudge? Caramel? Marshmallow? Sprinkles? Whipped Cream? Cherry on top? Tell me all about your perfect sundae!
Yum . . . Thanks for the hot fudge recipe.
ReplyDeleteMy perfect sundae is chocolate ice cream, hot fudge, chocolate sprinkles, and a cherry . . . .
Chocolate ice cream is always a good choice.
DeleteI love Friendly’s! I lived in NJ for 22 years and totally agree about the hot fudge. On chocolate almond ice cream. With lots of whipped cream. And sometimes added caramel sauce. And now I want one.
ReplyDeleteLots of whipped cream! I don't trust people who don't like whipped cream.
DeleteSo today I left NY for MI. And there just happened to be a Friendly’s shortly after I got into PA. I had to stop. There was a significant amount of whipped cream involved.
DeleteDelish! Our local Friendly's closed a few years ago, alas. I love a good banana split with chocolate ice cream and fudge sauce plus all the toppings.( never caramel)
ReplyDeleteBanana splits are totally healthy! Because...bananas!
DeleteI’m sure this recipe is delicious but I had a liver attack just reading it :). However, my friend will be very interested in it.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite sundae is vanille ice cream with strawberry coulis or with a little caramel, no whipped cream.
I love vanilla with strawberries!!!
DeleteWhere I spent my summers as a kid we did not have a Friendly's. We had what was called a dairy bar. They made their own ice cream. They made the best sundaes. I always had them with hot fudge, whipped cream, nuts and cherry on top. Yum. But unfortunately they have closed . I miss them.
ReplyDeleteWe had a Dairy Bar on Grassy Key in the Florida Keys. They were the best. Been gone a long time now, but I still remember their mango ice cream. Which I ate with hot fudge and whipped cream. Why not, right?
DeleteI've heard of Dairy Bar but never got to visit one. :(
DeleteJenn McKinley, I have not had breakfast yet and now I'm looking at the banana and thinking, hum...a little ice cream, a lot of hot fudge, some whipped cream...Yep, all the basic food groups.
ReplyDeleteWhen my sister-in-law was pregnant she stayed at our house until my brother left his last posting. We lived 10 miles from the nearest Friendly's and we went every day - in a New Jersey winter. Yes, she had a hot fudge sundae.
No Friendly's near us in my town, nor any Gifford's which are just as good (that will be $0.02, please). As for my home ice cream consumption Breyer's Natural Vanilla, Smucker's hot fudge from the glass jar, and Godiva Dark Chocolate liquor. Top it all with fresh whip cream and tell yourself tomorrow is another day to diet :)
Bad breakfast choices are my favorite thing! Go for it!
DeleteOh, Jenn! Now I have to have me a hot fudge sundae. Not sure where the closest Friendlys is though. Where I'm from we have Stewarts shops all over. Mare than just a convenience store/gas station, they have the best ice cream. When I was very young and before there were so many Stewarts shops, they did the ads on an early western TV show. What I remember about the ads was that you could make your own sundae! Probably years before I got a chance to do that but I remember piling on all the toppings!
ReplyDeleteJulia Child made hot fudge sauce on one of her shows and at one time I had the recipe - it might have been printed in a magazine. I've looked through cook books of hers that I own and I can't find it. All I remember is that karo syrup was involved. maybe someone out there has that recipe. I have looked online and the recipes that come up are not just right.
Well, it a national holiday apparently, so you'd be doing your duty!
Deletehttp://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/food-drink/julia-childs-hot-fudge-sauce/
DeleteThank you, Mary. Apparently Julia had more than one hot fudge recipe. This Warm Chocolate Sauce is probably delicious but it isn't the one I'm looking for.
DeleteOn top of my vanilla ice cream will be hot fudge with rainbow sprinkles, no whipped cream.
ReplyDeleteLove rainbow sprinkles - they're so cherrful!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteWho knew you could put marshmallows IN the hot fudge -- thanks for that great tip in the recipe!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, here in Massachusetts we can buy Friendly's ice cream in the supermarket, and it's a family favorite.
Right? It really is delicious.
DeleteI have fun memories of Friendly's from the summer I spent on Cape Cod (in the previous century, volunteering at a children's theatre). I think it was milkshakes I had back then, with chocolate sprinkles in them. Is that possible? I would have the works on my sundae these days.
ReplyDeleteAnything is possible, Amanda!
DeleteOh, this photo reminds me of my Dad. His body finally gave out one month before Covid though his mind had left us sometime before that. While he was still able, my sister would take him out for steak and potatoes about once a month. The last time, he watched a waitress walk by with a sundae, just like the one pictured, saying "Well, that looks good." The sundae was ordered. My sister IM'ed a photo captioned "This just arrived." There he was, little elfin sprite of a man, spoon in hand, grinning at an overloaded bowl of ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate, butterscotch and a cherry. 10 minutes later came the next photo. The bowl was as empty as it could be and the grin even bigger. One of his last moments of joy.
ReplyDeleteOh, I love this story so much. The week before my dad passed the only thing that made him happy as chocolate ice cream.
DeleteThanks for the Friendly's history. Springfield is only a half hour drive! We moved to the Hartford suburbs when I was 14. The little town I grew up in didn't have a Friendly's but the suburbs and city had many. I think their sundaes are superb! When was at UCONN, a big beef cheeseburg special was about $1.50. Add on a sundae for $.99. 1965..does that sound right?
ReplyDeleteThank you for the recipe for homemade hot fudge. I never would have thought of making my own. Now...hmm.
You're welcome. And now I want a cheeseburger.
DeleteI worked 3 summers at the "other" classic New England ice cream chains - who remembers these?- Howard Johnson (in my upstate NY home) and Brighams (Harvard Square, Cambridge,MA) After that, I didn't have much interest in ice cream:-) Now, when I do have a craving,it is pared down to classic: Haagen Daazs vanilla chip, smallest size, with hot fudge sauce.Perfection
ReplyDeleteBoston also had Baileys…best sundaes ever!
DeleteHoJo's - after every football game!
DeleteYes Triss, Howard Johnson for peppermint ice cream and clam strips! And we had a Friendly's right in the next town. As teens we would order the giant-sized Sunday. I think if one person ate it by herself, it was free. Makes me a little queasy to think about it....
ReplyDeleteAnd, weren’t Howard Johnson’s scoops not the usual round ones, but cone shaped? When I was about 8 or 9 the biggest vacation treat was breakfast there — cold cereal with a scoop of ice cream on top.
DeleteCereal with ice cream - I'm going to have to try that!
DeleteOnly 10 Friendly’s left in CT. My Friendly’s memory is from Trinity College in Hartford for post-grad early 1970s. Just a short walk from campus. With tight finances the 50 cent single scoop sugar cone, mint chocolate chip, every other week sustained me. And when there was a windfall, a tuna melt at the counter…with tip about $3.
ReplyDeleteMy budget never ran to hot fudge. Thanks for the memory, Jenn.
Tuna melt - loved those!
DeleteMy hot fudge sundae is:
ReplyDeleteChocolate Ice Cream
Extra Hot Fudge
Chocolate Jimmies
Peanut Crunch
Whip Cream
Cherry on Top
Perfection!
DeleteI remember Friendly's from my time in Connecticut. Happy that the franchise is still here. While I love ice cream, I don't eat sundaes now. I am not sure why I don't maybe a Frango Mint Sundae should be on the menu today. Oh dear, Frango Mint chocolate sauce is no longer available. I remember going to Frederick and Nelson's -- the top department store in Seattle (think Macy's) and ordering this treasure. The vanilla ice cream was dense, the chocolate sauce same in a little silver pitcher. It was presented in a steel ice cream dish that was beaded with moisture. Such an indulgence for a young child. Perhaps a sundae today for old time's sake?
ReplyDeleteAh…miss those Frangos from my Seattle days, Coralee.
DeleteThis sounds like afternoon tea but for ice cream - how delightful!
DeleteI gotta learn to proof read before posting. dang it. Guess I really want that sundae.
ReplyDeleteThe best local hot fudge sundae for me is THE ICE CREAMSMITH in Dorchester - my daughter and I went there a week ago to indulge after taking a long walk. They've been there for decades - the kids of the original owners are running the place -- and have always made their own ice cream and hot fudge. Sublime. Just the right gluey texture to the sauce. I skip the whipped cream (don't like the texture of whipped cream that comes from a can, even when it's 'real' cream -- I know, picky-picky) but there can never too many cherries on top.
ReplyDeleteYes, to more cherries!!!
DeleteJenn, that recipe looks like it's a snap to make, and I so trust your sweet tooth.
ReplyDeleteIt's easy peasy - the grands will love it.
DeleteWow Jenn, what a mix of ingredients in your M-in-L’s recipe. I have a feeling my dr wouldn’t approve of my adding it to our meal plan! Ha ha. As for Friendlys - having lived all my American life in the North East I’ve made many visits there and their mint chocolate chip ice cream is always in residence at our house. But my first memory was a road trip to Vermont for a contra dance a few weeks after I arrived here. 5 of us squashed in a small car - Manhattan to Brattleboro and returning down R95 hot, sticky b to b Sunday traffic, someone said time to stop. The co-driver woke with a jump, screamed out, “Friendlys “, and there it was waiting for us. We would take Olivia to our local F for a Saturday lunch treat. A kids lunch was a sandwich of choice, Olivia always ate a fishamagig and had the child’s sundae. I loved how clean it was. Unfortunately that all changed when Friendlys was sold to Hersey. But I still took my grand boys there for ice cream treats until their local closed too. Such an icon.
ReplyDeleteI remember making the upside down cone for kids, Celia. A scoop, a cone for a hat, a smiley face made of M&Ms. :)
DeleteWe didn't do/get a lot of sundaes growing up. When I would get one it was simple vanilla ice cream with hot fudge sauce. I like the hot fudge sauce that starts starts to solidify under the ice cream. I want more ice cream and less whipped cream. And hold that cherry on top. Blah.
ReplyDeleteYes, the hot fudge needs to thicken!
DeleteJenn, happy hot fudge day!
ReplyDeletePerhaps everything? Hot fudge. Marshmallows. Marachino Cherry? ice cream. Maybe cookie crumbs? Pecans or peanuts?
There are places that used to make my favorites and no longer are there. Swensen's Old Fashioned Ice Cream Parlour used to be near my home as a child and now it is gone. Not sure if Swensen's is still on Nob Hill in San Francisco, though. There was a wonderful Old Fashioned Ice Cream Parlour at Palm Court at one of the Smithsonian Museums in Washington DC and I do not think it is there anymore.
Diana
Ice Cream: I love Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.
DeleteAlso Caramel fudge.
There is a new place that makes hot fudge and it tastes awful so I never get that when I order sundae there.
Swensens…had one in Miami…wonderful!
DeleteI love marshmallow sauce, too!
DeleteWe used to go to a Friendly's when we lived in Ohio. I'm perfectly content with the DQ now. My sundae was either a hot fudge, no nuts please, or vanilla ice cream with caramel sauce and a dollop of whipped cream. Nothing fancy.
ReplyDeleteI love caramel sauce!
DeleteOh, this made me think of my dad, Jenn. He LOVED hot fudge sundaes and that was his standing order at the country club where he had lunch most days. With extra nuts! I haven't had a sundae in so long I can't even remember what I liked on them... And no Friendly's in Texas, alas. But we do have a DQ literally down the street, so I may have to treat myself--now that I have this weird craving, lol!
ReplyDeleteI have a DQ, too. May have to make the trek tonight!
DeleteJenn, you are 100% correct that Friendly's makes the best sundaes, bar none. (Also? their Fishwich sandwich is to die for.) There was a Friendly's just a little over a mile from where we lived when I was a senior in high school, making it a regular hangout for me and my nearby friends (you could get off the bus right across the corner and walk home later.)
ReplyDeleteI like mine simple and classic - the more elaborate ice creams take away from the point of the experience, which is the fudge sauce and the toppings. Give me a good sauce, whipped cream, nuts and a cherry, and I'm in heaven.
Also, I'm actually glad it's cool and rainy here in southern Maine, because otherwise I'd probably get in the car and head to our local ice cream stand.
DeleteAnd I would join you Julia
DeleteIt's cool and rainy here in Az , too (yes, still) and I'm still going. LOL.
DeleteDear Jen, Oh, I'll die on that hill with you! Friendly's hot fudge was the best. Now I want a sundae! Thank you for the recipe!
ReplyDeleteThank you!!!
DeleteOh, I love hot fudge sundaes. I've never had Friendly's, but if I am ever where a Friendly's is, I'll be sure to address that hole in my life. Frisch's is the restaurant I grew up with, and the nearest one to me now is two hours away. Besides having my favorite meal on the planet, a Big Boy platter, they have a Hot Fudge Cake. It's two slices of chocolate cake with a slab of vanilla ice cream in the middle, hot fudge poured over it, whipped cream and a cherry on top. I haven't had one in ages, but growing up I could handle all those calories. Of course, there's always splitting one with a friend. Here's a link where you can see a picture of it. https://frischsnwo.com/desserts/
ReplyDeleteThat cake is now on my bucket list!
DeleteI worked in the corner drug store as a teen making Sundays, frappes, etc. I loved chocolate ice cream with marshmallow sauce, coffee ice cream with strawberry sauce, and maple walnut with hot fudge...it's good I ate the chocolate then as I am now allergic to it...
ReplyDeleteCoffee ice cream with strawberry sauce?!?!?
DeleteI love all of these, Gram.
DeleteCoffee ice cream with chocolate sauce and slivered almonds. Or! Chocolate ice cream with coconut and pineapple. So delicious. Coconut and pineapple and vanilla is also good! Or! Pineapple sherbet with chocolate sauce! Or! Lemon sorbet with raspberry sauce. OK, stop me.
ReplyDeleteThose all sound sooo good.
DeletePeppermint ice cream with chocolate sauce! I forgot that one.
ReplyDeleteThat's a December only for me - peppermint ice cream - but oh I love it around the holidays.
DeleteI do love caramel sauce, but I don't say no to hot fudge either.
ReplyDeleteBoth works!!!
DeleteBlogger isn't letting me reply to comments. Wahhhhh! I can type here but it won't open up a reply on individual comments either on my phone or my laptop. Honestly, my toilet started leaking this morning, and I should have taken it for the dire warning it was.
ReplyDeleteJENN!!!! YOUR LIFE!!! You are such a trouper or trooper, I never know which it is.
DeleteSwitched browsers - all good1
ReplyDeleteI grew up in the hot central valley of California. To help my mom cope with the heat, on the first day it hit 100° Dad took her out to have hot fudge sundaes for lunch. When they moved to cooler southern California they did it on the first 90° day
ReplyDeleteWe had a Friendly's in Columbus, OH. Loved going there for breakfast and dessert. That hot fudge sauce recipe is a must! Vanilla ice cream, hot fudge/and caramel, nuts, whipped cream, and a banana to make it all healthy.
ReplyDeleteI know this will sound incredibly naive, but it never occurred to me that there aren't Friendly's all over the U.S.! I've known that the chain started in New England but, because it's been a part of my life everywhere I've lived (NJ, central NY and of course CT) it never occurred to me that it wasn't national by now! Their Reese's Pieces Super Sundae (which was just the original one back then) helped me through heartbreak during my last year of college and, more recently, it's been my reward for going through various not-particularly-pleasant medical things. Ice cream after a root canal for the win! The sundae has dairy and peanuts so it's a proper lunch, right? I think I've spent over a half hour sitting in their parking lot, just waiting for them to open. Luckily that Friendly's is just far enough away to not be an easy regular stop but close enough for an emergency fix. And, of course, it's in the same town as my endodontist and two doctors.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of which, when's my next appointment down there?
Jenn, I didn't realize you were a New Englander, too! When I lived in MA in the 70's, the Swiss Almond sundae had my heart.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, there are a lot of handymen roaming around your neighborhood with pickup trucks equipped with chainsaw but may not qualify with the demand of the job. Emergency Tree Service Mission Viejo
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the article. Thanks Again. Want more.Tree Removal company Long Beach
ReplyDeleteI loved Friendly's but most of them are gone now. When you were in college waitressing I was a toddler eating the giant Reese's Piece's sundae my uncle "couldn't" finish. They're still my favorite with Forbidden Fudge ice cream.
ReplyDeleteI loved Friendly's but most of them are gone now. When you were in college waitressing I was a toddler eating the giant Reese's Piece's sundae my uncle "couldn't" finish. They're still my favorite with Forbidden Fudge ice cream.
ReplyDelete