Watermelon Granita

Jennifer S.

A granita is an ice dessert made of a combination of water, sugar and liquid flavoring. The texture will be grainier than a sorbet--very similar to a slush.

3 tablespoons lime juice (juice of 2 to 3 limes)
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
6 cups 1-inch cubes seeded watermelon

1 In 1-quart saucepan, mix lime juice, water and sugar. Cook over low heat about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved. Cool slightly, about 5 minutes.
2 In blender or food processor, place watermelon. Cover; blend on high speed about 2 minutes or until smooth. Add lime juice mixture; blend until well mixed. Pour into ungreased 13x9-inch glass baking dish. Cover; freeze 1 hour.
3 Scrape with fork to distribute ice crystals evenly. Every 30 minutes, repeat scraping procedure for at least 3 hours until mixture is consistency of fine ice crystals. Scoop into chilled dessert cups to serve.

Grasshopper Dessert Squares

Jennifer S.

1 1/2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs (from 15-oz package)
1/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, cubed, softened
2/3 cup crème de menthe syrup. You'll find the syrup in the ice-cream toppings section of your supermarket.
1 1/2 jars (7 oz each) marshmallow creme (2 1/4 cups. See Tip below.
1 1/2 cups whipping cream

1 Line 13x9-inch pan with foil so edges of foil extend over sides of pan; spray with cooking spray. In pan, mix cookie crumbs, sugar and butter. Press evenly in bottom of pan.
2 In large bowl, beat cream cheese, crème de menthe and crème de cacao with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add marshmallow creme; beat until smooth. Refrigerate about 45 minutes or until mixture mounds when dropped from a spoon.
3 In chilled large bowl, beat whipping cream on high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold whipped cream into marshmallow mixture until blended. Pour over crust. Freeze about 4 hours or until firm.
4 Remove from pan, using foil to lift. Let dessert stand at room temperature 10 minutes before cutting. Freeze any remaining dessert tightly covered.

Tips

Shave off 65 calories and 8 grams of fat per serving by replacing the beaten whipping cream with 3 cups of reduced-fat whipped topping.

To easily scoop the marshmallow creme out of the jars, lightly spray a rubber scraper with cooking spray.

Top each serving with a dollop of whipped cream and chopped chocolate mint candies.

Frozen Key Lime Torte

Jennifer S.

1 pint (2 cups) lime sherbet
1 pint (2 cups) lemon sorbet
1 pint (2 cups) vanilla frozen yogurt
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 tablespoon Key lime juice
1/4 cup coconut, toasted*

1 Place sherbet, sorbet and frozen yogurt in refrigerator to soften while preparing crust.
2 In small bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter. Press mixture in bottom of 9-inch springform pan. Freeze 15 minutes.
3 Spoon or scoop softened sherbet, sorbet and frozen yogurt into large bowl. Add lime juice; stir gently to mix. Spoon mixture over crust in pan, spreading evenly. Sprinkle with coconut; lightly press into sherbet mixture. Freeze until firm before serving, at least 4 hours.
4 To serve, let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. Cut into wedges.

Tips

Frozen desserts like this one are easier to cut if left out at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Frozen Strawberry-Pistachio Dessert

Jennifer S.

Crust
1 1/2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs (from 15-oz. pkg.)
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup chopped pistachios or almonds
6 tablespoons butter, melted

Strawberry Layer
1 (1/2-gallon) container strawberry or cherry ice cream
Pistachio Layer
1 (1/2-gallon) container vanilla ice cream
1 (3.4-oz.) pkg. instant pistachio pudding and pie filling mix
1 cup half-and-half

Fudge Sauce
2 cups powdered sugar
1 (6-oz.) pkg. (1 cup) semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter
1 (12-oz.) can (1 1/2 cups) evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Frozen whipped topping, thawed, if desired
Fresh strawberries, if desired

1 Line 13x9-inch pan with foil, extending foil over all sides of pan. In medium bowl, combine all crust ingredients; mix well. Press evenly in bottom of foil-lined pan. Freeze 30 minutes. Place strawberry ice cream in refrigerator to soften.
2 Spoon softened strawberry ice cream onto crust; smooth with back of spoon. Freeze 30 minutes. Place vanilla ice cream in refrigerator to soften.
3 Place softened vanilla ice cream in large bowl; stir with spoon until smooth. In small bowl, combine pudding mix and half-and-half; stir until blended. Add to ice cream; mix with electric mixer at low speed until well blended. Spoon over strawberry ice cream. Freeze 4 hours or until firm.
4 Meanwhile, in large saucepan, combine powdered sugar, chocolate chips, butter and evaporated milk; stir to mix. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Boil 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Cool at least 1 hour before serving.
5 To serve, let dessert stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. Cut into squares. Serve each with fudge sauce, whipped topping and strawberries.

Tips
To save prep time, use purchased fudge ice cream topping.
The fudge sauce for this dessert is delicious; try it over sundaes.
Instead of spooning the fudge sauce over the dessert, drizzle it on the plate before adding the dessert square.

Creamy Frozen Orange Squares

Jennifer S.

2/3 cup coarsely chopped blanched almonds
5 tablespoons butter
60 vanilla wafer cookies, finely crushed (2 cups)
5 cups vanilla ice cream (from 1/2 gallon), softened
5 cups orange sherbet (from 3 pints), softened
1/2 pint (1 cup) whipping cream, whipped
Orange peel curls, if desired

1 In medium skillet, toast almonds over medium heat 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until light golden brown. Immediately remove from heat; reserve 2 tablespoons for topping.
2 Add butter to remaining almonds in skillet; stir until butter is melted. Add cookie crumbs; mix well. Press mixture in bottom of ungreased 13x9-inch pan. Cool completely, about 10 minutes.
3 In large bowl, stir ice cream and sherbet until partially blended. Spoon over cooled crust; smooth top. Cover; freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.
4 To serve, cut dessert into squares; place on individual dessert plates. Garnish each with whipped cream, reserved toasted almonds and orange curl.

Tips
Make this dessert and freeze it up to four days ahead of time. Transfer it to the refrigerator and let it soften 20 minutes before cutting and serving.

Ripening Frozen Desserts

Homemade ice cream and frozen yogurts taste better, and melt more slowly, if they are "ripened" before serving.
To ripen ice cream or frozen yogurt in a traditional-style ice cream freezer, after churning, remove lid and dasher (the mixing paddle) and cover the top of the freezer can with with waxed paper or foil. Plug the hole in the lid with a piece of cloth, a cork or a ball of foil; replace the lid. Place in the outer freezer bucket enough ice and rock salt to cover the top of the freezer can, using a 4-1 ratio (4 C ice to 1 C rock salt). Cover freezer with a towel or newspaper. Ripen for 4 hours, or follow your manufactures directions for times on ripening.
When using an ice cream freezer with an insulated mixing can, after churning, remove dasher; replace lid. Cover the lid with ice and cover with a towel. Ripen 4 hours.

You will definitely want to do the ripening part inside the house here in Arizona!!

Do NOT try to ripen in the home freezer, its NOT cold enough to harden the ice cream enough.

Frozen Strawberry Yogurt

Jennifer S.

8 C plain yogurt
3 C fresh or frozen (in syrup) strawberries, thawed
1 1/2 C sugar
2 C whipping cream

Combine all ingredients.
For best results cover and place in home freezer before transferring to ice cream maker for freezing.

Frozen Blueberry Yogurt

Jennifer S.

5 fresh or frozen blueberries, if frozen thaw and drain
5 C plain yogurt
2 C half-and-half
2 C sugar

Combine all ingredients.
For best results cover and place in home freezer for 30 minutes before transferring to ice cream maker for freezing.

Strawberry Gelato

Jennifer S.

3 C strawberries (washed, and cut into small pieces)
6 C milk
1 1/3 C sugar
12 beaten egg yolks
red food coloring (optional)

In blender or food processor blend berries until nearly smooth.
In large sauce pan combine 3 C of milk, sugar and egg yolks.
Cook and stir constantly over medium heat until coats back of spoon.
Remove from heat. Stir in remaining milk, berries and food coloring (as many or little as you like). Cover mixture with plastic wrap and place in fridge over night.
Transfer to ice cream maker. Follow maker's directions.
Ripen for 4 hours (See post on Ripening)