Frozen Greek Blueberry Yogurt

The last time I used my ice-cream maker, our peaches were in season. That was almost three seasons ago! I had grand plans of using it all the time, but just never did. It's a terrific appliance and a very nice addition to my kitchen, so last night I decided to call it back to duty, this time for frozen blueberry yogurt. This recipe couldn't be simpler. I used my favorite, Cabot Vanilla Bean Yogurt, along with a quick blueberry sauce that came together in a few minutes on the stove. This frozen yogurt has a texture somewhere between an ice cream and an ice - it's frozen solid coming out of the freezer and needs to sit for about 10-15 minutes at room temperature for easy scooping, but it's cold, refreshing, with that yogurt "tang" that I love. It's your favorite yogurt, only frozen. It is like soft-serve coming out of the ice cream machine, and I think that's the perfect time to eat it! Whether you have it soft-serve-style or frozen through, it's a great way to eat yogurt.

The idea is to use the ice cream maker for healthier desserts, because, as much as we "all scream for ice cream," that's no longer an option for me. There's no reason my ice cream maker should sit idle when it it can help to make life a little cooler right now, and a lot cooler this coming summer!

FROZEN GREEK BLUEBERRY YOGURT

Blueberry sauce:
1 cup water
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
sweetener to taste (1/2 up sugar or substitute to equal sweetness of 1/2 cup sugar)
2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 4 tablespoons water
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Bring water to boil. Add blueberries and sweetener and bring to boil again.  Add dissolved cornstarch and reduce heat. Simmer on low heat until nicely thickened, like a thick pudding (just takes a minute or two). Remove from heat and stir in extract.  Let cool.

2 lbs. low-fat Greek vanilla yogurt  (I use Cabot Vanilla Bean)


While blueberry sauce cools, add yogurt to ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. Half-way through, add a couple tablespoons of the blueberry sauce (saving the rest for folding in at the end.) Mine froze in just 14 minutes, so watch to see when it seems done and turn it off.

Spoon frozen yogurt (still fairly soft) into freezer-safe container and fold in as much of the blueberry sauce as you like, saving the rest for pancakes or another use.

Freeze for a few hours or overnight.

To serve, remove from freezer and allow to soften for 10-15 minutes before dishing out.  Serve with some of that warmed-up blueberry sauce!