Hot Treats

Standard Operating Procedure

With colder temperatures, hot products are a great way to draw customers in. These hot products pair amazingly with our delicious ice cream and hot drinks. The hot treats can still be customized by our customers with a pick of their favorite ice cream to pair with their treats.

Hot treats to offer: warm brownies, cinnamon rolls, cookies, and Nutella waffle roll-ups. All of these can be added to any order or served with ice cream. You can decide to serve all the treats, a few, or none based on your clientele and store set up.

Supplies Needed:

Microwave

Countertop Oven

Sheet Pan for Countertop oven

Pan Spray

Deli Paper (optional) Interfolded Deli Wax Paper - Cost ($2.75–$3.49/500 sheets) You can use this as parchment paper if you would like, it makes for easier clean up but is additional product. Deli paper is also a cheap and easy way to serve treat items on the side.

Spatula

Knife

Tongs

Squeeze Bottle

Food Products:

Brownie or Brownie Mix

Cinnamon Roll with frosting

Cookie Dough

Waffle Mix

Nutella

These hot treats can be prebaked goods that you bring in or raw products that you bake in store. You decide based on your store situation, food cost, labor, and local tastes. Brownies, cookies, or cinnamon rolls can be baked in store with a countertop oven or brought in prebaked. If baking in store: brownies can be made from our brownie mix, cookie dough can be ordered, and frozen cinnamon roll dough can thaw, proof, and then be baked or put in the waffle iron. 

Each store will decide which of these treats to sell in their location. You can carry all of these products or any combination of products. We would recommend at least doing the Nutella waffle roll-up, they perform well in taste tests with no new products or equipment needed. They are made during slow times and warmed up to order, so rush times are not hindered. 

Enjoy offering some new products that pair well with our ice cream and have fun with it.  Your staff and customers will pick up on that and get enthusiastic right along with you!

Procedure:

Brownies:

1. If making from brownie mix, plan ahead. 
   

1. Bake off in a quarter sheet pan size. This size is good to keep product quality high (because you’re not making too much), fits in a counter convection oven, and is easy to portion. (Using ⅕ of the full box recipe, fits well in this size pan.)
   

2. Prepare the brownies according to instructions, bake, cool, and then cut into portions.
   

3. A quarter sheet pan size is approximately 9”x13”, depending on the pan/manufacturer. Measure your pan and find out. This size is easy to portion and gives you 12 squares of brownies that are approximately 3”x3”.
   

   
   
      
   

2. If bringing in prebaked brownies, portion brownies equally.
   

3. You will want to diagram or precut the brownies before service for the following reasons:
   

1. You can display a few brownies in a case on the counter to spark upselling and impulse buys.
   

2. Employees are ready for service and are not slowed down by trying to cut the product during peak times.
   

3. Portion control is essential to controlling food cost. By having them already portioned, you get consistency and prevent losing product when a piece is too small because others have been cut too large. 
   

4. If possible, display a few brownies in a display case. (Pick the best looking brownies!) 
   

5. When the customer orders:
   

1. Ask if they want it heated. Heat the treat to order as requested by customer.
   

2. Heat the treat for around 20 seconds (will vary with microwaves). You want the treat very warm but not dried out or burning hot.
   

3. Ask if they would like their ice cream on top of the treat, on the side or separate, or under the treat. 
   

4. Prepare as requested by customer.
   

6. Smile as you hand the customer their treat! Serve immediately.
   

Cinnamon Roll:

You can bring in cinnamon rolls already baked and ready to heat or bring in the dough to proof and bake in-store. You can decide what works best for your store and staff. 

If proofing and baking cinnamon rolls:

1. It would be best practice to prepare six cinnamon rolls at a time. This amount fits best in a countertop oven. The cinnamon roll dough can also be baked in the waffle iron, to make a flat cinnamon roll which would then be used like a yummy waffle bowl.
   

2. Prepare a flat quarter sheet pan for rolls. 
   

3. Spray pan with pan spray. If you use deli paper still spray the paper. The rolls will stick to the paper without pan spray.
   

4. Remove 6 frozen cinnamon rolls from the freezer, space evenly in prepared pan, and cover the pan with plastic wrap.
   

1. You can proof (allow dough to rise) dough overnight. Toward the end of the night shift, place the prepared pan of frozen rolls into the fridge. This will allow the cinnamon rolls to slowly rise until the next afternoon.
   

5. After the morning shift sets up for the day, they need to turn on the counter oven. If the cinnamon rolls aren’t proofed to their full size, place pan on top of the oven. (The rolls are full size when they fill the pan and touch each other.) The heat from the oven warming up will finish proofing the rolls without baking them. When the rolls are full size, bake according to instructions and your oven. Times will vary on each oven, so monitor them closely the first couple of times, until you figure out your typical time.
   

6. Check cinnamon rolls while baking. Move the center of roll around with a spatula to see if it’s still doughy. When the rolls have a nice golden brown color on the exterior and are no longer doughy in the center, remove pan from the oven and let them cool in the pan. 
   

7. You can frost the cinnamon rolls with the included icing, as soon as the rolls are cool. You may want to leave some unfrosted for ice cream or easier reheating.
   

8. When cooled, store cinnamon rolls in plastic or container. If possible, display a few cinnamon rolls in a display case. Pick the best looking ones!
   

9. Reheat a cinnamon roll in microwave, to order, as requested by customer. 
   

10. When the customer orders:
    

1. Ask if they want it heated. Heat treat to order as requested by customer.
   

2. Heat treat for around 20 seconds (will vary with microwaves). You want the treat very warm but not dried out or burning hot.
   

3. Ask if they would like their ice cream on top of the treat, on the side or separate, or under the treat. 
   

4. Prepare as requested by customer.
   

11. Smile as you hand the customer their treat! Serve immediately.
    

If you want to use the cinnamon roll as a “waffle bowl”:

1. Follow proofing directions outlined in section above. Preheat waffle iron.
   

2. Spray waffle iron before placing one proofed roll in the middle of the hot iron. Lower lid.
   

3. Cook roll until done. (Times really vary for different rolls/sizes, could be anywhere around 30 - 90 sec.) Watch the side of the roll through the waffle iron since it doesn’t completely close. When the sides are no longer doughy, remove the cinnamon roll and place in Sub Zero large or pint size cup.
   

4.  If possible, display a few cinnamon roll waffle bowls in display case.
   

5. Reheat in microwave, if customer desires, before serving with ice cream.
   

If bringing in a prebaked cinnamon roll:

1. Store rolls in freezer according to instructions.
   

2. Pull a few cinnamon rolls out (from the freezer) at a time to display. 
   

3. Heat up thawed rolls in microwave (usually around 20 seconds), as requested by customers when they order. The rolls can be served on the side or with ice cream.
   

Warm or Half-Baked Cookies:

Cookie dough is a great item to bring into your store. You can serve it warm and half-baked or as an ice cream sandwich. They are a great add-on as well and customers enjoy them.

1. Order cookie dough that is sold frozen in portioned pucks. 
   

1. You can order different varieties. We have found chocolate chip, white chocolate with macadamia nuts, and sugar cookies are popular. We carry a third variety that we rotate seasonally. For example, there are caramel apple oatmeal, strawberry shortcake, lemon, peppermint, and pumpkin cookies to name a few.
   

2. Place 6 cookies on prepared quarter sheet pan. 
   

1. Use pan spray or parchment paper to ensure easy release of cookies and cleanup.
   

3. Turn on countertop oven to recommended temperature. Let cookies sit on counter to soften while oven preheats. When oven is to temp, place cookies in oven and set timer.
   

1. We want to bake the cookies so they are stiff enough to hold together but warm and gooey when reheated for customer’s orders.
   

2. In our oven, it was 8-9 minutes. Times will vary with each oven and preference.
   

4. Allow the cookies to cool on the pan, outside of the oven. If you try to remove the gooey cookies while warm, you will end up with a mess instead of a cookie!
   

5. Cookies will need to be stored and ready for customer orders.
   

1. Place cookies in a display case or 
   

2. Keep your half-baked cookies separate from your fully baked cookies by placing them in a plastic bag. Store where easily accessible on the food prep line.
   

6. When a customer orders a warm cookie with ice cream, make ice cream as requested. 
   

7. Warm up the half-baked cookie in large or pint size Sub Zero Cup. It only takes approximately 20 seconds in a microwave to warm the cookie and melt the chocolate chips. By warming the cookie in the cup, you will not have to worry about transferring the cookie after warming.
   

1. Times will vary slightly based on different microwaves.
   

2. Use a larger size Sub Zero cup than the ice cream size ordered to ensure there is room for the cookie as well.
   

3. Stand cookie up along the side of the cup (kind of like a waffle bowl) before warming and adjust as needed after warming up cookie.
   

8. Scoop ice cream next to the warm cookie.
   

9. Smile as you hand the customer their treat! Serve immediately.
   

Nutella Waffle Roll-Up:

These are tasty and able to be made ahead of time and reheated to order or made fresh. Try these out—they are so tasty, quick, and requires no additional ingredients to be brought in.

1. Prepare waffle batter per usual instructions.
   

2. Preheat waffle iron to correct temperature.
   

3. Grab Nutella squeeze bottle and place it right by waffle iron.
   

1. You can use caramel, brownie batter, marshmallow creme, or other fillings instead, if customer desires. Nutella was the favorite but try some out, so you can make recommendations based on your own taste testing.
   

2. Set timer and have it ready before scooping batter into the waffle iron.
   

3. We are working with a short window of time to cook the batter but keep it soft.
   

4. We want this product to be soft. So we don’t want to cook it as long as we do the waffle bowls and cones.
   

5. Exact time needed will vary slightly by waffle iron. 15 seconds is a good starting point.
   

4. Take 1 oz scoop and fill with waffle batter. Scoop onto waffle iron in the center.
   

5. Start the timer while putting the lid down on iron at the same time.
   

6. Shake Nutella squeeze bottle to get the Nutella in the spout and ready to squeeze out immediately.
   

7. Immediately, when the timer goes off, lift the top of the waffle iron with one hand and squeeze the Nutella onto the waffle with the other hand.
   

8. Quickly but carefully place a thick line (about finger width) of Nutella onto the waffle, as shown below. You want enough to fill the roll-up and have Nutella in each bite, but too using too much will cause it to fall out the ends and create a big mess.
   

   
   

   
   

9.  Using tongs, lift the waffle edge closest to the Nutella and fold over. Keep folding and rolling until you reach the other end. Place on a clean flat surface (plate, parchment paper, etc.) to cool.
   

1. With practice your rolls will get tighter, but they don’t need to be tiny.
   

2. Make sure you cool the waffle completely before storing.
   

3. They can be placed in a display case or kept in plastic.
   

10. Reheat roll-up to order. It only took 10–15 seconds to warm up two of these in the microwave.
    

11. Serve two roll-ups in a parchment bag/paper on the side, or in a criss-cross shape in a Sub Zero cup one size larger than the size of ice cream ordered.
    

12. Smile as you hand the customer their treat! Serve immediately.
    

Tips:

• Get posters and collateral to increase customer awareness of the new treats.
  

• You can contact me and let me know which products you are selling. I will then have the graphic designer create a poster with those products, just for your store. 
  

• You can use the pics we have taken or submit your own pictures for the poster.
  

• Display collateral prominently (windows, sidewalk signs, community bulletin boards, etc.)
  

• Display the treats in a display case where customers can easily see and crave them.
  

• If displaying treats in a display case:
  

•  Everyday before open, check on the treats. Do they look appetizing? Make sure they are not past their prime or overcooked.
  

• Make sure you are stocked with the treats that you are advertising.
  

• Keep display case clean and wiped out.
  

• Display case placement is important. If it is at the beginning of the line, the customer will see when they are deciding on their order. This also gives the employees a natural chance to offer these products when the order is given.
  

• Upsell—Train employees to always ask if they would like to add a hot treat when customer orders ice cream during the colder months. 
  

• On social media, create posts about the products you offer, promo videos, graphics, video reviews, etc. Create engagement by asking: for favorites, questions, holiday questions, etc.