Coconut Ice Cream Snowballs

Ingredients

8 junior mints
1 pint vanilla ice cream
1(14 ounce) bag sweetened shredded coconut
4 sprigs of mint
¼ cup chocolate sauce, optional, recipe to follow

Directions

Lay the junior mints on a plate and set in freezer for at least an one hour until hardened.

Using a large round ice cream scoop, scoop out a ball of ice cream and leave in scoop. Poke a hole in the center of the scoop with a handle of a wooden spoon. Place 2 junior mints in the hole and push to the center of the ice cream ball with the handle of the wooden spoon. Cover the hole with a bit of ice cream and place the scoop of ice cream into a resealable plastic bag filled with the coconut. Shake around pressing gently to completely coat. Place on tray and let set up in freezer for 30 minutes. Repeat process with remaining ingredients.

For serving, remove the ice cream balls from freezer and slice each one in half. Place two halves on each plate and garnish with mint and drizzle with chocolate sauce if desired.

Chocolate Sauce

Ingredients

½ cup milk
3 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

In a medium sauce pot, heat milk to a simmer over low heat. Whisk in chocolate making sure to whisk constantly to prevent scorching. When the mixture comes to a simmer add the remaining ingredients and simmer a few minutes while stirring. Serve warm.