The One Dessert Ree Drummond Will Only Eat Store-Bought

For all their culinary prowess, even celebrity chefs know when not to fight a losing battle in the kitchen. Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond is no different. Even though her repertoire includes plenty of kitchen secrets and a recipe list full of cakes, brownies, and cobblers, green tea ice cream is one sweet treat she prefers to get from the store.

As she relates in the newest issue of Pioneer Woman Magazine, Drummond's fondness for store-bought green tea ice cream stems from a failed attempt to make it for a ladies' luncheon. She made green tea ice cream years ago, she says, by buying green tea bags and then using a food processor to grind up the green tea to use in the ice cream base. The result, she says, wasn't terrible, but it also wasn't great. 

Drummond says that the final product looked like green sludge. But, she served it anyway after putting so much work into it. The ice cream went untouched — 23 bowls in all — by the group she'd prepared it for. One disappointing attempt was enough to convince Drummond that store-bought was the way to go.

Not only did Ree Drummond's attempt at green tea ice cream turn out like green sludge, but it also ruined her freezer. As she told Delish in 2017, part of the reason her ice cream turned out sludgy was because she didn't shut her freezer all the way. When she checked on it after leaving it in the freezer for a time, the contents of the freezer were ruined and her ice cream wasn't quite what she had hoped for.

Even if it had been successful, the flavor of her creation likely turned out different than what conventional green tea ice cream tastes like. The green-hued ice cream is typically made with matcha powder, which has a richer, sweeter flavor, and can be used in a variety of dishes. By contrast, green tea like the kind Drummond purchased, is usually enjoyed as a traditional loose-leaf tea with more earthy flavors.

While Drummond doesn't mention a specific brand of green tea ice cream that she likes, buying it from the store can save a lot of time and effort without sacrificing flavor. It also leaves plenty of room to doctor up the ice cream with a litany of toppings, including fruit, honey, or chocolate. The ice cream can also be used in a variety of other desserts like ice cream sandwiches, ice cream floats, and more.