8 frozen dessert recipes to keep cool this August

CLEVELAND, Ohio — It’s finally August, which means everyone is doing their best to make the most out of the end of summer without completely melting thanks to those late-summer temperatures.

August is a month full of refreshing flavors — ripe tomatoes, end of the season watermelons and as much ice cream as you can physically stomach before fall comes around.

While a cone straight from the ice cream truck sounds great, there are plenty of other frozen desserts that are just as, if not more, tasty that you can make from home.

We’ve created 8 recipes for frozen desserts to help inspire you to think outside of freezer pops and Drumsticks, for pies, popsicles, cheesecakes and more. You can check those out below, and make sure to try some out before the end of summer.

1. Tropical popsicles (with tequila)

These taste so good that you almost feel guilty because it’s like you’re not even drinking at all. Use whatever juice you like to take the easy way, but if you’re looking to use fresh fruit, go for a combination of pineapple, mango and orange. Also if you want a kid-friendly version of this recipe, skip the tequila, as these are just as delicious without it.

2 cups of tropical juice (passionfruit, mango, etc.)

3 tablespoons of lime juice

1/2 cup of clear tequila

2 tablespoons of sugar

Jalapeno slices and thinly sliced limes (optional)

1. Combine juices, tequila and sugar into a bowl and gently pour into popsicle molds
2. Add in whole slices of jalapenos and limes for design. Let freeze for at least 5 hours or overnight.

2. Blueberry cheesecake frozen pie

Blueberry pie is a summer staple, and this dish has all of those flavors you love without requiring you to turn on your oven. It’s like a cheesecake and a pie in one, and it’s packed with flavor. Plus, no kneading is required thanks to the easiest graham cracker crust ever.

For crust:

1 pack of graham crackers, about 9 full ones

6 tablespoons of butter

3 tablespoons of brown sugar

For filling:

3 cups of blueberries, fresh or frozen

1 cup of granulated sugar

1 pack, 8 oz. of cream cheese, softened

1 cup of plain yogurt

1 tsp. of vanilla extract

½ cup of heavy cream

½ cup of powdered sugar

1. First make the crust by crushing graham crackers in a food processor or plastic bag. Combine in a bowl with brown sugar and butter until it’s crumbly.
2. Grease a 9-inch springform pan and press the graham crack crush into the bottom and up the sides. Make sure to get a good layer of it and to make sure that it is evenly pressed down. Stick in the fridge while you make the filling.
3. In a food processor or blender, combine blueberries, sugar and ½ cup of the yogurt until smooth.
4. In a separate bowl, beat cream cheese with an electric mixer on high until it is fluffy and creamy. Be careful not to over mix. Add in the other ½ cup of yogurt and powdered sugar and mix until well combined. Then, add in blueberry mixture until combined.
5. In a separate bowl, beat the heavy cream until it becomes whipped cream and peaks form. With a rubber spatula, gently fold it into the blueberry mixture in batches.
6. Gently smooth the mixture onto the crust and freeze until solid, at least 4 hours or preferably overnight. Serve with blueberries and whipped cream.

3. DIY ice cream sandwiches two ways

An ice cream sandwich is a perfect dessert, especially when executed correctly, and that’s due in part to the fact that you can use anything to make one. Cake. Brownies. Churros. The possibilities are endless, but to get your wheels turning, you can try out these two recipes for a taste.

1 pack of Tate’s chocolate chip cookies

6 brownies, thick

1 pint of your favorite ice cream (Flavor suggestions: Salted caramel, cookie dough, butter pecan, etc.)

1 jar of hot fudge

1 jar of caramel

Sprinkles, nuts and/or chocolate chips for decoration

There’s nothing better than ice cream sandwiches you make at home. This recipe will show you how to make two variations, but let your imagination run wild.

1. Put hot fudge into a bowl and slightly microwave. Let cool and spread onto one cookie.
2. Put one thick scoop of ice cream onto another cookie so that it is evenly spread. Put together with the hot fudge-covered cookie.
3. Decorate by putting sprinkles, nuts or chocolate chips online the sides of the ice cream
4. If brownies are thick, cut in half horizontally. If thin, skip this step
5. Spread caramel onto one brownie and scoop ice cream onto another.
6. Combine and decorate with sprinkles.

4. Champagne floats

You need to make these when you’re trying to look “boujee” but want to put in the least amount of effort possible. This is a cocktail that feels like a dessert, and you can customize it with different fruits and flavors of sherbet depending on your taste. Once you try these, you’ll probably never want a boring old glass of regular champagne again.

1 pint of sherbet, raspberry or strawberry

1 bottle of chilled champagne, preferably pink

Raspberries, sliced strawberries and mint leaves for garnish

1. Put 1-2 scoops of sherbet into champagne flutes. Add in strawberries and raspberries and top with champagne and a mint leaf. Serve immediately.

5. Affogato with a twist

If you’re a coffee lover with a sweet tooth, the affogato is probably all too familiar to you, or at least it should be. It’s a simple dessert as you just pour coffee over a scoop of ice cream, but this recipe takes it to the next level by basically making it an entire sundae. Pro tip: if you have any cookies or brownies lying around, crumble them into this for the ultimate treat.

Salted caramel ice cream

2 cups of espresso or strong coffee

2 tbsp of dulce de leche or caramel topping

2 tbsp of hot fudge

¼ cup of salted almonds

Whipped cream

1. Take two short glasses and put a base of hot fudge onto the bottom.
2. Place one scoop of ice cream into each glass.
3. Top with espresso. Then, drizzle dulce de leche over the scoop. Top with salted almonds and whipped cream. Serve immediately.

6. Strawberries and cream icebox cake

This icebox cake is a bit different because instead of your typical graham crackers, it uses Biscoff cookies which are basically just more-delicious graham crackers. You can also utilize this recipe as a fridge cleaning weapon, as it’s a great way to use up fruit that might be going bad.

1 package of Biscoff cookies (if you can’t find them, you can substitute for Golden Oreos, graham crackers or any other neutral cookie)

1 pound of fresh strawberries, sliced

4 cups of heavy whipping cream

1 8 oz. package of cream cheese

1 tbsp. of vanilla extract

3 tbsp. of powdered sugar

1 tbsp. of lemon juice

1. In a bowl, beat together whipping cream, cream cheese, vanilla, powdered sugar and lemon juice until it holds stiff peaks.
2. In a rectangle baking dish, arrange a layer of cookies without overlapped. Top with a layer of cram and then a layer of strawberries, trying to make each layer even.
3. Continue to layer until the dish is full, topping with strawberries.
4. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

7. Ice cream bites

These are like a homemade version of the movie theater treat, and while you have to have a little patience, the recipe is fairly simple. This recipe is definitely worth trying with two kinds of ice cream at once, and you can dip some in dark, milk and white chocolate for a variation. Just make sure you make a lot of them — they’re hard to resist after you’ve started eating them.

1 pint of ice cream, any flavor (vanilla, chocolate, cookie dough, etc.)

3 cups of chocolate chips, any kind

¾ cup of coconut oil

Sprinkles, crushed Oreos and crushed nuts for decoration

1. Completely line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Take the ice cream and scoop it onto the sheet. Use a rubber spatula to spread it out evenly, making sure it is flat and there are no air bubbles. Cover with another sheet of parchment paper and place in the freezer for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
2. Transfer the ice cream onto a large cutting board and remove the top layer parchment paper. With a sharp knife, cut the ice cream into 1-inch cubes. Place, with the bottom layer of parchment, back onto the baking sheet and freeze for another 3-4 hours.
3. Melt ice cream and coconut oil in a bowl in the microwave until smooth.
4. Using a skewer, pick up each ice cream cube and carefully dunk into chocolate, allowing the excess to run off. Place on a parchment-lined sheet and top with sprinkles or nuts.

8. Nutella fudgesicles

This upgraded version of the childhood classic is exactly the kind of dessert you need these days, and it couldn’t be easier. You can swap out the almond milk in this recipe for your dairy of choice, but almond and coconut definitely amp up the overall flavor of the dessert.

½ cup of Nutella or hazelnut spread

½ cup of sweetened condensed milk

1 cup of almond milk

1. Mix all ingredients into a bowl until smooth and pour into popsicle molds. Freeze for at least 5 hours, or overnight.