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Time for some dessert! You deserve it. You've been through eight recipes without a taste. Well here's your reward.

I just think that this recipe is so much fun! Baking ice cream? And it doesn't melt? There are two secrets: make sure the ice cream is frozen rock solid, and be sure that the meringue completely surrounds the ice cream with not a trace of ice cream showing through.

Speaking of meringue: every time I say that word it reminds me of the first time I came across it. I was in fourth grade and my 4-H club was making a dessert that involved a meringue. I pronounced it "mer - in - guoo". Three syllables. Oh my! How far I've come! The correct pronunciation is "mer - ang".

The reason I chose this recipe for the Learn-to-Cook series is because, besides being fun, it teaches you how to separate eggs and how to beat egg whites. Two very important skills for your cooking repertoire.

I do recommend a brownie mix for this recipe rather than making them from scratch. Yikes! I always use Duncan Hines Chocolate Lover's Brownies with Walnuts. I think it's great. I follow the instructions for "cake-like" brownies but I also add 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts. Yeah, there are walnuts in the mix but not very many. I always bake the brownies in a 9" x 9" pan, but you can use an 8" x 8" if that's what you have. The brownies will be slightly thicker (not a bad thing!).

I always line my baking pans with parchment paper. It makes it easier to dump out the contents after baking. Just turn the pan over and the brownies will release easily. I like to remove the brownies from the pan in one large piece before cutting. I don't like to cut the brownies in the pan because it destroys the finish of the pan. This is up to you though: you can do it whichever way you want!

Strawberry ice cream is the recommended flavor for this recipe. It goes very well with the chocolate brownies, and the contrast of the pink ice cream with the brownies when you cut into it is very pleasing to the eye.

To beat egg whites, you really need an electric mixer. Yes, you can do them by hand but I'm not going there. I think that the one small appliance that you should definitely invest in for your kitchen is a good, sturdy, standing mixer. It will give you years of service and will be worth every penny. Click on the link on the left for "Electric mixer" for more info.

At-Home Safe Food Handling *

* with permission from Kansas State University Research & Extension