Forget Insta-worthy Sundaes, Snow Cream Is The OG Winter Flex

(Photo : Canva) Snow cream in a white bowl topped with mango chuinks and a mint leaf.

Step aside overpriced ice cream sundaes. The real winter treat MVP arrives for free and straight from the sky- snow cream. This OG delicacy turns fluffy snowflakes into a frosty creamy delight, and you only need four ingredients: fresh snow, condensed milk, vanilla extract, and kosher salt.

How To Make Snow Cream

Are you ready for pure DIY fun? Fold the snow into the condensed milk and watch it transform from crunchy crystals to smooth, icy gold. Want to get creative with it? Add tropical vibes by mixing in coconut flakes and topping with mango chunks, as we did. Or lean into the sweeteness and mix it with instant coffee granules plus a few drizzles of chocolate syrup and salted caramel syrup. (Just like Reese Witherspoon did recently with her now infamous Snow Salt Chococinno.) The possibilities are endless, much like the parade of winter storms we're facing this year.

Is It Safe To Eat Snow?

This debate is currently tearing the internet apart. Long story short: you can't just grab any ol' snow to make Snow Cream. Remember that air pollution is a real thing, so the flakes that fall in the first few hours of a storm aren't going to be grime-free. Your best bet is to put a clean container out towards the middle or tail end of the snowfall. Make sure it's nowhere near the ground and that it's large enough to gather plenty of clean snow. The longer the snow hangs out, the more time it has to collect dust, pollution, and maybe even some unwanted critters. So stick to the fresh stuff.

Snow Cream Recipe

Ingredients

1 (14 oz) can of sweetened condensed milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch kosher salt
10 to 12 cups of fresh snow

Directions

Mix the vanilla and salt right into the can of condensed milk.
Place the container you gathered your snow in on top of a second container filled with snow or ice. Snow cream melts quickly and this will help keep it frozen.
Make a well in the center of the container you gathered the snow in. Add the condensed milk mixture to the well.
Little by little, mix in snow into the condensed milk mixture until it is no longer runny and reaches your desired consistency. Keep the unmixed snow surrounding your snow cream to help it stay frozen.