Snowman punch is a gin and sparkling wine punch with a snowman built from ice cream scoops floating in the middle of the bowl. He gets chocolate chip eyes, a jelly bean nose and a sherbet hat. Twenty glasses, nothing is cooked, and it goes together in the bowl.
Pour the liquids down the inside of the bowl rather than over the snowman. An hour in the freezer is all that holds him together. A stream of gin straight onto his face takes the chocolate chips with it.
This punch is stronger than it looks. Gin, Grand Marnier and two bottles of sparkling wine work out at about a standard drink per glass. The ice cream hides every bit of that, so pour small and tell people.
Snowman Punch
Course: DrinksCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Medium4
servings30
minutes300
kcalVanilla ice cream scooped into snowballs and stacked into a snowman with candy for a face. Floated in gin, orange liqueur, sparkling wine and seltzer, then dusted with confectioners sugar.
Ingredients
- For the Snowman:
8 cups (2 quarts) vanilla ice cream
2 cups (1 pint) orange sherbet, only a small scoop needed for the hat
7 mini chocolate chips
1 orange jelly bean, cut in half lengthwise
1 sour candy belt, ends snipped with scissors to look like fringe
1 mini marshmallow
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
- For the Punch:
One 375-milliliter bottle gin, frozen
1/2 cup orange liqueur, such as Grand Marnier, chilled
Two 750-milliliter bottles dry sparkling wine, chilled
1 liter seltzer, chilled
Directions
- Chill and scoop: Chill a baking sheet in the freezer for 20 minutes. Scoop the vanilla ice cream into the roundest balls you can on the cold sheet, making one ball twice the size of the others. Scoop a ball of orange sherbet half the size of a medium ball, leaving a ruffle around the bottom for the hat brim. Freeze until solid, about 1 hour.
- Build the base: Set one medium vanilla ball aside and pile the rest of them in the middle of the punch bowl.
- Build the snowman: Center the large vanilla ball on the pile. Press 5 chocolate chips in a line down one side for buttons, pointy end in. Top with the reserved medium ball for the head and press in the last 2 chips for eyes. Add half a jelly bean for a nose and wrap the candy belt round as a scarf.
- Add the hat: Sit the orange sherbet ball on top for a hat and finish with the mini marshmallow as a pom pom. The bowl holds in the freezer up to 2 hours if you are not serving straight away.
- Pour and serve: Add the gin, orange liqueur, sparkling wine and seltzer in that order, pouring down the inside of the bowl. Dust with confectioners sugar for snow and serve in coupe glasses, scooping a ball of ice cream and some punch into each.
FAQs
What do I do with the leftover sherbet?
The card asks for a full pint and the hat uses about a third of a cup, so most of it never leaves the tub. Scoop the rest into balls while you are at it and freeze them. They melt into the punch and tint it orange.
How far ahead can I build the snowman?
Scoop and freeze the balls a day early on a chilled tray, covered once solid. Assemble him in the bowl and the whole thing holds two hours in the freezer. Any longer and the ice cream starts to crack where the balls meet.
How many ice cream balls do I need?
Eight cups gives you roughly twenty medium scoops, which works out at one per glass with the snowman built from three of them. Make them all the same size except the body ball, which goes double. Any spares go back in the freezer.
Can I make a version without alcohol?
Not from this recipe, because the gin and the wine are the entire liquid. Swap in sparkling white grape juice and more seltzer and you have a different drink. For a proper alcohol free bowl, try this christmas sherbet punch.
What do I serve with it?
Something sharp and savory, because this is sweet and strong at the same time. A cheese on the table slows people down between glasses. A pomegranate cheese ball and crackers does the job.
