Frozen Bites Part 2: More Easy Summer Treats

Written by Shaina of Food for My Family.

This summer marks the fourth year in a house without air conditioning. We survive the 90- and sometimes even 100-degree heat year after year by living in tank tops and flip-flops. I also open the windows and blow hot air around, trying to create a breeze. Finally, I stock my freezer full of cool treats that will air condition my family from the inside out.

Having survived a late July due date with my fourth child in these weather conditions, I’d say I know a thing or two about midsummer frozen fare. I start with the obvious: popsicles and ice cubes, both perfect for plopping into water that can’t get cold enough or running across your skin, and then I move on to things like frozen fruit for daily smoothies and ice cream treats aplenty.

Here are three of our favorite frozen summer treats.

Photo by Shaina

Frozen Fruit Skewers with Honey-Yogurt Dipping Sauce

  • 6 bamboo skewers
  • 1 cup fresh fruit pieces (berries, grapes, pineapple chunks)

Honey-Yogurt Dipping Sauce

  • ¼ cup plain yogurt
  • 2 teaspoons honey
  1. Have the kids place the fruit on the skewers. Encourage nibbling.
  2. Freeze the skewers in an airtight container or a zip-top bag for at least 5 hours until frozen solid.
  3. Just before serving, mix together yogurt and honey. Serve with frozen skewers.

Makes 6 skewers.

Photo by Shaina

Greek Yogurt Semifreddo

  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • ¼ cup confectioner’s sugar
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 1 egg
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup Greek yogurt
  1. Mix together cream and confectioner’s sugar using a hand mixer until stiff peaks form. Chill in refrigerator.
  2. In a double boiler over medium heat, whisk egg yolks, egg and sugar until doubled in size. Remove from heat.
  3. Stir in vanilla and half of the Greek yogurt. Fold remaining Greek yogurt and the egg and sugar base into the chilled whipped cream.
  4. Pour mixture into molds or into an airtight container and place in the fridge for 6-8 hours until hardened. Eat directly from molds, in slices or scoop and enjoy in a bowl. Top with seasonal berries and/or granola.

Photo by Shaina

Oatmeal Raisin Ice Cream Sandwiches

  • ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 ¾ cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ½ cup milk
  • 2 cups quick cooking rolled oats
  • ½ cup raisins

Greek Yogurt Semifreddo (above) or your favorite vanilla or cinnamon ice cream.

  1. Preheat the oven to 350º F. Cream together butter and sugar, then beat in eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift together whole wheat flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
  2. Alternately add flour and milk to the butter mixture, mixing after each addition. Stir in quick oats.
  3. Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop dough onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment or a silicon mat. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350º F or until edges turn brown but centers are soft. Remove from oven and allow to sit on baking sheet until set. Cool completely on wire racks.
  4. When cookies are cool, place small scoops of ice cream or sliced semifreddo disks between two cookies. Individually wrap in parchment, place in airtight container and freeze for at least 5 hours until ice cream and cookie are both frozen. Remove from freezer when ready to serve.

Makes 16-18 ice cream sandwiches.

These are only few of the summertime snacks we try to have available at our house. When the heat seems unbearable and the children are cranky from being stuck in the house, I pull one of these out and head to the shade of a backyard tree. Suddenly, everything starts to slow down, and life seems a whole lot sweeter.

What are a few of your favorite ways to cool down on a hot summer day?

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21 Comments

  1. The fruit skewers are so bright and colorful-I love to snack on frozen grapes! But those ice cream sandwiches…now those have my attention!
    .-= Melissa’s last blog: It’s been that kind of morning…(Chocolate Swirl Sour Cream Coffee Cake) =-.

  2. I had to chuckle at the “encourage nibbling” part in the fruit skewer recipe. If I did that, we would go through four times that amount of fruit and still not have enough to poke on the sticks!

    We, too, do not have air conditioning, and I am happy about it. Air conditioning slows me down, trapping me indoors when I need to be outside duking it out with the weeds in the garden. I battle the heat, mostly by making a mental shift from avoiding sweat to embracing it. Get good and gross, shower before bed, sleep hard, do it all over again.

    That, and iced coffees….

    1. Isn’t it crazy how your body just acclimates depending on what you are used to? If I walk into an air-conditioned home in the summer I am instantly cold because I am so used to just being hot and sweaty all day long, inside or out.

      And my garden desperately needs to be weeded right now. Last time I tried there were bunnies living in it (a nest and nothing was eaten…and yes, we have a fence around it), and I haven’t gone back to finish since we got them out.

  3. Oh, those ice cream sandwiches would be a favorite in my house! We do some simple things in the summer like semi-freeze some strawberries that we’ve cut in half and then mix them with some low fat cool whip (sometimes with a little chocolate drizzle). They’re refreshing and healthy all in one.
    .-= Tina’s last blog: The Spiderman Bicycle For Spider Loving Boys =-.

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  5. Delicious roundup, Shaina! Now our hot weather has all but disappeared….still these treats look good enough for a rainy day!

    The fruit skewers are just plain fun, and your semifreddo looks elegant enough for company.

    Hmm, how will I ever decide?

  6. Those ice cream sandwiches look magical. And I love the Anthropologie bowl. I’ve been meaning to buy it for some time. Super pretty!

  7. We don’t use the skewers, but frozen grapes are a summer staple in our house. We can’t head to the beach until one of my kids has made sure we packed the frozen grapes!

  8. The heat here in SC is so intense and we are really feeling it this week. It was 101 degrees today! Our favorite frozen treats are the homemade juice pops. We fill them with everything from lemonade to smoothies. I like your blog about the food for your family. I share recipes and menu plans on my blog but they are all vegan and based on the food coming from our garden. Thanks for sharing.

  9. The fruit skewers are a fantastic idea! I think I’ll try those with my little guy when he gets older – my husband might even go for them now. Thanks for the inspiration!

  10. Hey Shaina, you have a beautiful site! Thanks for being an inspiration to other food bloggers! I am a fan all the way from Cape Town, South Africa 🙂