Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in South Florida Family Events and Recipes

National Root Beer Float Day is August 6, and we bet you’ve never tried the floats in our weekend recipe line-up! Gather your family and friends, and give them a try.

  • Smoky S’mores Root Beer Floats (courtesy of howsweeteats.com)

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup milk chocolate chips melted

  • 1 cup chocolate ice cream

  • 1 cup vanilla ice cream

  • 2 bottles root beer

  • pinch of smoked sea salt

  • 2 tablespoons graham crackers

  • 2 marshmallows charred or torched

Directions

  1. To melt the chocolate chips, place them in a bowl and microwave in 30 second increments until melty. I like to take a spoon and drizzle this around the rim.

  2. Fill each glass with both chocolate and vanilla ice creams. Add a pinch of smoked sea salt into the glass. Pour the root beer over top just before serving. Sprinkle on the graham crackers and add a charred marshmallow on to finish. Devour!

  3. As a note, you can char the marshmallows on a gas range, under the broiler (watch them the entire time!) or even just get them melty in the microwave if you don't have a bonfire of sorts.

  • Kicked-up Banana Root Beer Float (courtesy of foodnetwork.com)

Ingredients

  • 1 banana, peeled and cut in half lengthwise

  • 2 scoops vanilla ice cream

  • 2 to 3 tablespoons hot fudge or chocolate sauce

  • 2 tablespoons bourbon

  • 1 (12-ounce) can root beer

  • Whipped cream, for garnish

  • Confectioners’ sugar, for garnish

  • Chocolate shavings, for garnish

Directions

  1. In a large glass, arrange banana halves on each side. Add ice cream, hot fudge, bourbon, and root beer to fill. Garnish with whipped cream, confectioners’ sugar, and chocolate shavings on top. Serve immediately.

  • Deep Fried Root Beer Floats (courtesy of sugarhero.com)

Ingredients

  • 1 egg

  • ¾ cup root beer and 12 ounces root beer

  • 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

  • 1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

  • ¾ teaspoon baking powder

  • ¼ teaspoon salt

  • 1 quart oil, for frying

  • Candy thermometer

  • Vanilla ice cream

Directions

  1. Whisk together the egg, 3/4 cup of root beer, and oil. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and whisk until everything is incorporated and all of the lumps are gone. Transfer the batter to a piping bag with a round tip, or a zip-top plastic bag. If using a plastic bag, cut a hole in the corner no larger than 1/2-inch. To prevent the batter from spilling out, clamp the hole closed with a clothespin or binder clip when you’re not piping the cakes.

  2. Pour the frying oil into a medium saucepan so that it’s 2 inches deep, and insert the candy thermometer. Heat the oil over medium heat until it reaches 370 F (188 C). Hold the bag of batter directly above the oil, and remove the clamp. Pipe the batter into the oil, holding it close to the surface, and quickly move it in a wiggly, circular pattern to create an irregularly shaped blob of dough about 6″ across. To ensure that your funnel cakes hold together, make sure that the tip of your bag is close to the surface of the oil, and that you criss-cross over the dough several times when piping the cake.

  3. The cake will cook quickly–a minute or less for the first side, and closer to 30 seconds for the second side. Once the cake is puffed, crispy, and golden brown, remove it from the oil using a frying skimmer or slotted spoon and place it on a paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain. Repeat with the rest of the batter, making about 6 cakes total. Watch the temperature of the oil and keep it between 370 -380 F. Remove it from the heat if it gets too hot, or let it warm up in between batches if the temperature drops too much. Before serving, brush with the cakes root beer syrup and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and more root beer syrup drizzled on top.

  4. FOR THE ROOT BEER SYRUP: Pour 12 oz root beer into a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the syrup reduces down to about 1/3-1/2 cup (the measurement doesn’t have to be precise). This might take up to 30 minutes. Cool the syrup completely before using. It will thicken a bit as it cools, but will still be more of a liquid than a viscous syrup.

Enjoy!