Snow Cones for Fun Friday!

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    Our Summertime hot weather has finally arrived here in Phoenix.  We really enjoyed the longer Spring this year, but now it is time to find  ways to keep cool! 
     When my son and his family were living with us, I was reminiscing about the snow cones we used to get at the snack bar of all of the Little League games my kids played in. And then,  I found a  Snow Cone Machine on clearance at our local grocery store for about $7.00!  I decided it would be perfect to keep my grandchildren cooled off and happy and a great treat for when they were playing out in the backyard wading pool.  I was even able to find the syrups on sale as well!  I later found out that the company (Jelly Belly) had discontinued the model I purchased and came out with another one.  But, you can still purchase the one similar to the one I have on Amazon.  
    It is surprising how well this little machine shaves the ice for snow cones! I just use regular ice cubes from my freezer and this little thing goes to town, shaving the ice fairly quickly.  No one has to wait their turn very long.  When I bought the machine, it came with little pointy snow cone cups, but we used those up quickly and now I use paper cups instead.  They are easier to find and just a little sturdier for little hands I think. 

Here is the machine. You can hook the snow cone cup under it to catch the ice...

But I usually use a bowl to shave a bunch of ice at once.

Then I mound it into a cup with an ice cream scoop. You can do it lower if you have really young kids who might make a mess.

Now put on as much syrup as you want! No one wants to run out of syrup before you run out of ice!

    There are quite a few different models of snow cone or shaved ice machines out there.  But, the hands down most popular and best value for your money is this one.  I think it is so cool looking and would be awesome to have for a pool party with any age of kids. 

    Now, let's talk snow cone syrups.  I think that you can still find the Jelly Belly syrups in the store, and they are pretty good, depending on the flavor.  We had a root beer flavor that lasted about 2 days.  The cherry is pretty good as well.  I am not to sold on the tangerine. If you are having a big party, you can get this set on Amazon for a great price and it has really great reviews on the taste. The nice thing is that it comes with the flavor bottles that come with the tips to pour the syrup right out of the bottles, as well as  50 spoon straws and 50 cups! 

    Another, more cost saving alternative is to make your own syrup!  It is super easy and only takes 3 ingredients and you can make it any flavor you want.  Here is how you do it: 

Snow Cone Syrup

In a small saucepan, mix together 1 cup of water and 1 cup of granulated sugar. 
Cook and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
Allow to simmer at least 3 minutes, or longer to make it thicker. 
Remove from the heat and stir in 1 package of unsweetened Kool Aid or other powdered drink mix. 
Alternatively, you may add an extract, such as root beer extract or lemon, to taste. 
Allow the syrup to cool then pour it into a squirt bottle to use on your snow cones. 

    I made a grape flavored syrup!  Maddy was my taste tester and she said that it tastes great! 

    You will be the favorite parent on the block when you start handing out snow cones to all of your child's friends!  They are the perfect, inexpensive treat at a water party.  Be sure to have lots of flavors because when I helped at the snack stand at the Little League games, rainbow flavors were always the first choice! 
​     Have a fun weekend!