Cool Desserts

There comes a time when we want something snacky but still cool/cold. Here are six recipes that fit the bill, both snacky and cold, as well as yummy, including Frozen Blueberry Lemonade Pie and Rhubarb Ice Cream With a Caramel Swirl. Enjoy!

MOCHA SHERBET FREEZE

Here’s a recipe from that infamous long-since-forgotten emailing list.

Ingredients

2-1/4 cups strongly brewed coffee or espresso

3/4 cup sugar

6 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

Pinch of salt

3/4 cup whole milk

Preparation

Whisk together the coffee, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a large saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil and allow it to boil for 30 seconds, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and stir in the milk.

Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Perfect Pairing: To make a Mocha Freeze, for each serving put 2 scoops of Mocha Sherbet (4 ounces, 115 g) in a blender along with 1/2 cup (125 ml) very strongly brewed coffee or espresso, 1-1/2 tablespoons sugar, and 3 ice cubes. Blend until almost smooth. Pour into a glass and top with Whipped Cream.

CRANBERRY ICE

Here’s another recipe from that infamous long-since-forgotten emailing list. This one begins, “Lovely citrus lends flavor to tart cranberries in this refreshing sorbet that can be served up for dessert, as a palate cleanser between meals or to liven up turkey in place of cranberry sauce.”

I realize that most stores don't have fresh cranberries this time of year...it's mostly a fall fruit. However, if you're like me, you might have a bag or two of the yummy red berries in your freezer. Every fall, I replenish my supply of cranberries. I usually try to pick up at least two bags of fresh cranberries during every shopping trip, then add them to my growing stash in the freezer. That way, I can use them throughout the year in smoothies, for my dad's cranberry pie, and more...including this cool recipe.

Ingredients

2 (12 ounce) packages fresh cranberries

2 cups white sugar

1 1/4 cups fresh orange juice

1 cup fresh lemon juice

Instructions

In a large pot, add cranberries and enough water to cover. Boil until cranberries begin to pop. Drain and put through a food mill placed over a large bowl.

While still warm add sugar to dissolve in the warm berries. The amount of sugar may vary depending on the tartness of the berries, so if you decide to add more sugar remember that the mixture will be tarter when it has been frozen.

After dissolving the sugar in the berries, stir in fresh squeezed orange juice and fresh squeezed lemon juice. Pour in 8 or 9 inch square pan and freeze overnight. Take out of the freezer 5-10 minutes before cutting.

RHUBARB ICE CREAM WITH A CARAMEL SWIRL

This is from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “This ice cream is chock-full of sweet bits, but with enough satiny frozen custard to savor between the chunks. To keep the rhubarb from freezing into tooth-breaking fruity ice cubes, stew it with plenty of sugar, which keeps the fruit soft. The technique works with any summer fruit, though it’s especially nice with rhubarb, or gooseberries for that matter, both of which need a lot of sugar to tame their squint-inducing acid content. But you can substitute strawberries, apricots, cherries, peaches or plums as the summer fruit season progresses, adjusting the sugar depending upon the sweetness of the fruit.”

Yield: One scant quart

This was featured in “Rhubarb, It Turns Out, Can Be a Sweetie”, and can be viewed online here.

Ingredients

1 and 1/2 cups whole milk

1 and 3/4 cup plus 6 tablespoons granulated sugar

Pinch fine sea salt

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

4 large egg yolks, lightly beaten

1 and 1/2 cups sour cream

3/4 pound rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch dice

1/2 cup heavy cream

Preparation

In a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, whisk together the milk, 3/4 cup sugar, the salt, the vanilla bean seeds and its pod. Simmer gently until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and steep 30 minutes. Discard the vanilla pod and return mixture to a bare simmer.

Place the yolks in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in hot milk mixture. Scrape the custard back into the pot and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Whisk in sour cream. Chill at least 3 hours or overnight.

In a saucepan, combine the rhubarb with 1 cup sugar. Simmer until rhubarb is just tender and has begun releasing its juices, but has not started to fall apart, 4 to 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer rhubarb to a bowl. Continue to simmer the juices until syrupy, 5 to 10 minutes more. Pour the syrup over the rhubarb. Cool completely.

In a clean, dry and preferably nonstick skillet, sprinkle 2 tablespoons sugar over medium heat. When it begins to melt and lightly color, sprinkle in 2 more tablespoons and start swirling pan to help evenly distribute sugar. Add the final 2 tablespoons and cook, swirling pan until all the sugar has melted. Let cook, swirling occasionally, until the sugar syrup caramelizes and turns dark brown. Pour in the heavy cream and 2 tablespoons water (stand back; it may splatter). Simmer, stirring with a heatproof rubber spatula until smooth. Cool completely.

Pour the custard base into an ice cream machine and churn. Add rhubarb compote for the last minute of churning.

Scrape a quarter of the caramel into the bottom of a freezer-proof quart container. Top with a quarter of the ice cream. Repeat layering until all of the caramel and ice cream has been used, ending with the ice cream. Freeze until firm for at least 2 hours and up to 1 week.

LEMON BLUEBERRY SORBET

This is from a long-since-forgotten emailing list. It begins, “Lemon verbena enhances the lemon flavor of this blueberry sorbet. The rum is optional. The recipe calls for frozen blueberries, so you can make it year-round.”

Yield: 4 servings.

Ingredients

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup whole lemon verbena leaves

1 bag frozen blueberries (14 to 16 ounces)

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

2 Tablespoons lemon-flavored rum (optional)

Preparation

Put sugar and lemon verbena in a food processor and process 30 seconds. Add frozen blueberries and process 1 minute.

With the processor on, pour lemon juice and rum, if using, through the feed tube; process until smooth.

Serve sorbet immediately, or transfer to a covered bowl and keep in freezer (soften slightly before serving, if necessary).

LEMON SORBET

Here’s another recipe from that infamous long-since-forgotten emailing list. Makes 8 servings.

Ingredients

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

1 cup fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon lemon zest

Preparation

In a small saucepan, bring the water and the sugar to a boil, stirring the mixture to dissolve the sugar. Add the lemon juice and zest to the sugar syrup and freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

FROZEN BLUEBERRY LEMONADE PIE

This comes from Diana Rattray, About.com's Southern Food expert. Diana wrote, “Blueberries give this frozen lemonade pie extra color and flavor, and it is a fabulous pie for a hot summer day. The pie takes just a few minutes to mix - just freeze and eat!” Prep Time: 6 minutes; Cook Time: 0 minutes; Total Time: 6 minutes; Yield: 8 servings

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 cup fresh blueberries

1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

1 can (6 ounces) frozen lemonade

1 tub (8 ounces) whipped topping, regular or "lite," thawed in the refrigerator

1 deep dish graham cracker pie crust, homemade or purchased

Preparation

Put the blueberries, sweetened condensed milk, and frozen lemonade in a blender container. Blend until well mixed.

Pour into a bowl and fold in the whipped topping until well blended.

Spoon into the prepared crust.

Cover and freeze for at least 4 hours.

If frozen solid, take it out of the freezer 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.

Note: I used a "2 extra servings" deep dish ready crust for the pie. A smaller pie shell will leave you with extra filling.

Just freeze any excess in small ramekins or 4-ounce canning jars and serve as a frozen pudding.