SoCo Creamery

Saturday I went into downtown Hartford with my daughter, parents, sister, brother-in-law, and nephew. I really wanted to take Daughter on the carousel. Being two, she was a little overwhelmed by it, so she never actually rode it (though she was enthralled with watching it.) The trip wasn't a total bust though. Not at all. Sister, B-I-L, Mom, Nephew, and I all rode the carousel. Nephew and Daughter enjoyed the playground, Daughter enjoyed the bouncy house, AND we happened upon the Hartford Jazz Festival. We enjoyed a nice picnic and wandered the booths at the festival.

An outing like that wouldn't be complete without ice cream, so luckily as we were leaving, we passed the booth for SoCo Creamery. Of course we stopped.

I kind of have pregnancy brain right now. When I introduced myself they told me they had read Scoopalicious and we had written about them at the Scooper Bowl. Oh, duh, I recalled. I had chosen the Salted Caramel they make as my favorite of the event and Tina had chosen their Lemon Poppyseed. Seriously, it was my favorite, I just don't remember things from one day to the next! Haha!

In fact, SoCo's tasty creation inspired me to try my own hand at Salted Caramel. I used the recipe from Sweet Cream and Sugar Cones: 90 Recipes for Making Your Own Ice Cream and Frozen Treats from Bi-Rite Creamery ...I think I burnt my sugar, so it wasn't as successful as I'd hoped -- but my friend Ashu swears by Bi-Rite's Salted Caramel, so...Salted Caramel Taste Off, anyone?!

But I digress...

SoCo's Salted Caramel is still among my favorites. I ordered a scoop of the salted caramel and a scoop of blueberry. I was a fan of both.

Sister said: "I ordered the Apple Cider Donut and loved it, but also loved the Salted Caramel and Minty Mudslide."

Brother-in-law said: I had the PB mudslide and the dirty chocolate. I really enjoyed the chocolate as it was very rich. The PB mudslide was good. I tried the blueberry and was a bit sad that I did not get that as one of my flavors."

Dad said: "Had a Cider Donut...very good...Much like apple pie ice cream had once before."

As for the Cider Donut -- I find it interesting that they used a cinnamon base with cider donuts mixed in. I made mine with a cider base. I think their recipe was a little more mellow -- less tart, less overwhelming...I wonder if I added cinnamon to the cider concentrate?

The reviews are in and they are all super positive! You go, SoCo! This time I am going to remember how much I love you guys!!! I am going to have to find you locally...