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This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and Quaker. All opinions are mine alone. #CollectiveBias #LoveMyCereal #QuakerUp

I’m a planner by nature, not at all spontaneous.  I would like to be spontaneous, but it’s just not in my DNA.  My family really enjoys entertaining guests.  I want to be able to be spontaneous and host friends and family on the spur of the moment, bu-uut…. it stresses me out not being prepared.  Yes, I realize that by definition, it’s tough to be prepared for spontaneous guests.  Because I don’t want my hang up to prevent us from hosting spur of the moment guests, I plan ahead for spontaneous hosting.  I know, I know.  One of my favorite planning tricks is to make a big batch of our family favorite Crunchy Ice Cream Topping ahead using cereal I usually already have on-hand.

My planning self realized that with the holiday season here, I’d better prepare for last minute guests, especially since my oldest “baby” got home from college yesterday and will be inviting hundreds of friends over. While I was out running holiday shopping errands,I popped over to Walmart where I knew I could grab all the ingredients I needed to make my crunchy ice cream topping. My family eats lots of Quaker® Life cereal, so I also wanted to stock up for when they’ll all be home over the holidays.

 Ingredients

4 cups crushed Quaker® Life cereal or Quaker® Oatmeal Squares  (the Quaker® Life cereal makes a lighter topping and the Quaker® Oatmeal Squares makes the topping a bit heartier, you choose which your preference).  I leave the cereal in the bag it comes in and crunch it by hand (a perfect job for the kiddos to help with.)

1 1/4 cup moist coconut

1/2 cup slivered Almonds

1 cup brown Sugar

1/2 cup melted butter 

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl, then stir in the melted butter.  Mix well. I store the crunchy ice cream topping in an air-tight container in the pantry or freezer (depending on how big of a batch I whipped up).
When my oldest “baby’s” friends drop by at all hours, I can she can quickly and easily set up a serve-yourself snack station.  When the kids are ready to snack, they just grab the ice cream from the freezer and serve themselves.

While the topping is amazing on ice cream, it’s just as amazing on Greek yogurt, so we can easily offer another snack option for guests.

I like to offer additional toppings like sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, cran raisins, or nuts so that guests can create their own perfect treat.

You can even add holiday-themed toppings.

Do you have a favorite treat that you keep on-hand for your drop-in guests? 

I’d love to know so I can add it to my plan for unplanned entertaining.  You’ll have to give this easy Crunchy Ice Cream Topping a try when you’re planning for your next unplanned guests.  Happy spontaneous entertaining.

More easy dessert ideas:

Susan

I’m a mom of 3, a veteran and military spouse. I’ve moved into 20+ homes all around the world. My passion is helping busy people make the space and time for what’s really important to them.