Cool Desserts

This time of year, when summer has gone on a little too long, is there anything better than Cool Desserts? Probably not. Today's post of six cool desserts includes No-Churn Strawberry-Lemonade Sorbet, Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream, and Peach Ice Cream. Enjoy!

AVOCADO-GREEN TEA POPSICLE

This is from American Heart Association, and begins, "This grown-up popsicle is made creamy from the combination of avocado and yogurt. It tastes indulgent without many calories attached to it."

Makes 6 servings

View this online at https://recipes.heart.org/en/recipes/avocado-green-tea-popsicle.

Ingredients

1 avocado (halved, pitted)

1 banana (peeled, roughly chopped)

1 cup fat-free milk

1/2 cup fat-free, plain Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon green tea matcha powder

1 tablespoon honey

Directions

Halve the avocado and remove the pit. Spoon the avocado's flesh into a food processor or blender, also adding the chopped banana, milk, yogurt, matcha powder, and honey.

Purée until mixture is smooth.

Carefully pour mixture into 6 (4-ounce) popsicle molds. Insert popsicle sticks and freeze until firm, at least 8 hours.

Run the outside of the popsicle mold under warm water to easily remove popsicle from the mold.

Quick Tips

Cooking Tip: Matcha is a finely powdered green tea loaded with many antioxidants, often found at health food stores, if not in the tea aisle of the grocery store. Consider adding 1 to 2 teaspoons into a morning smoothie or make an afternoon drink of fat-free milk, matcha powder, and ice in the blender.

Keep it Healthy: Trying to reduce sugar intake? Adding a banana or other ripe fruit, like in this popsicle recipe, is a smart way to add sweetness.

Tip: Add a little ice into this recipe to turn this into a smoothie for 2. Or, sprinkle a little granola into the popsicle molds before filling with the base to make this into a breakfast popsicle.

HOMEMADE STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM

This comes from Authentic Florida (originally posted on Feb. 20, 2018, and sent out again on January 14, 2021). The recipe begins, "Did you know that Plant City, Florida is the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World?!? Right now (February) is the perfect time to take a trip to Plant City or to your local pick your own strawberry field and fill up a bucket of fresh, delicious strawberries. Grocery stores and farmers’ markets are also keeping a plentiful inventory. Read on to see how to use these delicious fresh-picked berries for an authentic Florida fresh Strawberry Ice Cream Recipe.

"Enjoy this easy recipe and the delightful pleasure of making your own homemade ice cream."

This can be viewed online at https://authenticflorida.com/articles/homemade-strawberry-ice-cream/.

Ingredients for Florida Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream Recipe

3 Cups fresh Florida strawberries, stemmed and sliced

4 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1-1/2 Cups of sugar divided (1/2 cup & 1 full cup)

1-1/2 Cups of whole milk

2-3/4 Cups heavy cream

1-1/2 Teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions

Step One

In a small bowl, combine the strawberries with the lemon juice and 1/2 cup of the sugar.

Stir gently and allow the strawberries to macerate in the juices for 2 hours.

Using a strainer, strain the berries, reserving the juices.

Then, mash or puree half the berries.

Step Two

In medium mixing bowl, use a hand mixer on low speed to combine the milk and remaining granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved, about 1-2 minutes. If you don’t have a mixer, use a hand whisk for 3-4 minutes.

Stir in the heavy cream, reserved strawberry juice, mashed strawberries and vanilla.

Step Three

Turn the machine on; pour the mixture into the freezer bowl, and let mix until thickened about 20-25 minutes.

Five minutes before the mixing is completed, add the reserved sliced strawberries and let mix in completely.

If you don’t have an ice cream maker, don’t despair, you don’t need one, just:

Pour in the reserved strawberries, mix and place into a plastic container covered with a tight lid and chill in the freezer overnight, stirring occasionally until hardened.

Note: The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. If a firmer consistency is desired, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in freezer about 2 hours. Remove from freezer about 15 minutes before serving.

Adapted from Cuisinart recipe.

FRESH FRUIT YOGURT POPS

This comes from Vegetarian Times (July/August 2005 issue, page 65), and begins, "Corn syrup keeps these super-simple treats from developing ice crystals or freezing into blocks. Feel free to play around with fruit combinations." It also states, "Any summer fruit except watermelon, which has too high of a water content, will work in this recipe for healthy, colorful popsicles." Makes 8 servings

To view this online, go to https://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/fresh-fruit-yogurt-pops-recipe/.

Ingredients

2 cups low-fat vanilla yogurt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup corn syrup

2 cups fresh summer fruit, such as raspberries, pitted cherries, etc.

Preparation

Place yogurt, vanilla, lemon juice, corn syrup and 1 cup fruit in blender or food processor, and purée until smooth. Add remaining fruit, and pulse 3 or 4 times, or until fruit is broken down into small pieces.

Pour mixture into 8 1/2-cup frozen-pop molds. Place top on mold; insert wooden sticks. Freeze at least 4 hours.

LEMON-GINGERBREAD ICE CREAM SANDWICHES

This comes from Vegetarian Times (July/August 2005 issue, page 62), and begins, "These ice cream sandwiches will become a year-round favorite." Serves 12

To view this online, go to https://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/lemon-gingerbread-ice-cream-sandwiches/.

Ingredients

1/3 cup molasses

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 cup boiling water

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp. ground ginger

2 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. each ground cloves, ground nutmeg, ground black pepper and salt

8 Tbs. (1 stick) soy margarine, softened

1/2 cup light brown sugar

2 pints lemon sorbet

4 cups vanilla soy "ice cream"

Preparation

Put molasses in heatproof bowl. Sprinkle baking soda over top. Add boiling water; whisk with fork.

Blend flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, pepper and salt in large bowl. Cream margarine and brown sugar in another bowl. Add molasses mixture; beat until soft dough forms. Divide in half, wrap each in plastic wrap and chill 1 hour.

Put 1 dough ball between 2 sheets wax paper. Roll into 8 1/2 x 12 1/2-inch shape; remove top wax paper. Using sharp knife, trim dough edges; cut dough into 12 2×4-inch rectangles. Prick with fork. Transfer on wax paper to cookie sheet; chill 30 minutes.

Repeat with remaining dough.

Preheat oven to 325F. Grease 2 cookie sheets. Transfer rectangles from wax paper to cookie sheets.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until set but still soft to the touch. Transfer to wire rack, and cool completely.

Meanwhile, scoop sorbet and ice cream into large bowl; blend with wooden spoon. Freeze 20 minutes or longer, or until mixture is firm.

When completely cool, spread 1/2 cup frozen lemon filling onto bottom of one cookie. Pat filling down with spatula. Place second cookie on top (pricked side up), and gently press down. Scrape away any filling that spreads past edges, and use it to fill in corners. Smooth edges. Repeat with remaining cookies. Wrap sandwiches in plastic wrap, and freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.

NO-CHURN STRAWBERRY-LEMONADE SORBET

This recipe, from the Food Network, begins, "The nostalgic flavors of a classic summertime drink come together in the easiest ever two-ingredient sorbet. The trick? It's made in a food processor rather than an ice cream machine."

Active Time: 10 minutes; Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes (includes freezing time); Makes 4 servings; Level: Easy

To view this online, go to https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/no-churn-strawberry-lemonade-sorbet-8813666.

Ingredients

16 ounces (about 4 cups) frozen strawberries

3 tablespoons frozen lemonade concentrate

Directions

Add the strawberries and lemonade concentrate to a food processor and process until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until scoopable, about 1 hour. The sorbet will keep for up to 2 months.

PEACH ICE CREAM

This comes from Julia Reed in The New York Times cooking newsletter. Julia wrote, "This easy ice cream is meant to evoke hazy memories of a summer spent luxuriating on a front porch, cold glass in hand, waiting as your ice cream maker does the churning work for a late-afternoon treat. Use the best peaches you can find — the flavor of this depends directly on the fruit. You can also use mangoes or strawberries, or other stone fruits. Use your imagination, but let the ice cream maker do most of the work."

Yield: About 1 1/2 quarts, 6 to 8 servings; Time: About 1 hour, plus freezing

This was featured in "FOOD; Frozen Assets", and can be viewed online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/6658-peach-ice-cream.

Ingredients

4 pounds ripe peaches

1 1/4 cups sugar (or more, as needed)

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 quart (4 cups) heavy cream

1 2-inch piece of vanilla bean (or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract)

Preparation

Peel peaches over a large bowl to catch the juice. Halve and pit them and chop roughly. Place in the bowl and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of sugar, the salt and lemon juice and let them sit for 30 minutes.

While peaches macerate, put cream and remaining sugar in saucepan with vanilla bean or vanilla. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring frequently to keep from scorching, until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and cool. Discard vanilla bean.

Pour cream over peaches and mix thoroughly. Taste to see if it needs more sugar. (This will depend on the peaches.) Refrigerate until chilled.

Pour the mixture into an ice-cream machine and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions until set but not quite hard. (If serving immediately, freeze harder.) Pack the ice cream into a bowl or mold to completely solidify. When it has hardened, dip mold into hot water or wrap in a hot towel and invert onto a serving platter. Or, simply scoop and serve.

Tip

This recipe is also delicious made with fresh mangoes.