Cool Treats For A Hot 4th

An icy dessert can add just the sparkle you need for your Fourth of July picnic or barbecue.

An easy-to-make frozen treat like an Italian ice or "Granita" comes in all sorts of flavors, with lemon and coffee being the most common. On The Early Show Friday, cookbook author and teacher Tori Ritchie prepares one with a favorite summer fruit, watermelon.

She also shares her ice cream sandwich recipe and shows viewers inventive ways to dress up the usual ice cream.

The following are her recipes:

Watermelon Granita
Granita is a cooling, icy slush made during the furnace-like summers in Italy. Like ice cream, granitas come in a variety of sweet, refreshing flavors, such as melon, peach, nectarine, berry or coffee. If you wish, garnish this granita with tiny wedges of well-chilled watermelon.

Ingredients:
4 to 5 packed cups seedless watermelon chunks
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

Method:

1. Place the watermelon chunks in a blender and puree until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. You should have 2-cups puree.
2. In a saucepan over high heat, combine the water and sugar. Heat, stirring, just until the sugar dissolves. Add the sugar syrup and lemon juice to the watermelon puree and stir well. Pour the mixture into a shallow 9-by-13-inch metal or glass-baking dish.
3. Place, uncovered, in the freezer until ice crystals begin to form, 1-1/2 to 2 hours. Using a fork, stir to break up the mixture. Return to the freezer and freeze, stirring with the fork every 30 minutes to prevent the mixture from forming a solid mass. It should be evenly crystallized and like slush in another 2 hours.
4. To serve, spoon or scoop the granita into chilled serving dishes. Serves 6.

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
16 Tbs. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
6 oz. unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
2 cups sugar
Pinch of salt
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup dulce de leche
3 cups bing cherry ice cream (see recipe to follow), softened
Ice Cream Toppings

Method:

1. Preheat an oven to 350°F. Line two 8-inch square baking pans with aluminum foil, allowing the foil to extend slightly above the rims of the pans. Lightly grease the foil.
2. Over a sheet of waxed paper, sift together the flour and baking powder. Set aside.
3. In a saucepan over low heat, combine the butter and chocolate. Heat, stirring often, until melted, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar and salt. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir until well blended. Sprinkle in the flour mixture and stir until just blended.
4. Divide the batter between the prepared pans and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out almost completely clean, about 20 minutes. Do not over bake. Transfer the pans to a wire rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour. Holding the edge of the foil, remove the uncut brownies from the pans and carefully peel off the foil. Wrap each separately in plastic wrap and freeze for 1 hour.
5. Line an 8-inch square metal baking pan with 2 pieces of plastic wrap, forming a cross in the center and allowing 6 inches of the plastic to overhang. Remove the brownies from the freezer. Unwrap them and place on a clean work surface. Spread 2 Tbs. of the dulce de leche over the bottom of each uncut brownie. Place 1 brownie, dulce de leche side up, in the prepared pan, and spread the ice cream evenly over the brownie. Lay the remaining brownie, dulce de leche side down, on top of the ice cream. Cover the brownies with the overhanging plastic wrap, using more plastic wrap as needed, and freeze for 8 hours.
6. When ready to serve, unwrap the brownies and cut into 16 squares. Press the toppings of your choice from the Ice Cream Toppings Kit into the cut sides of the sandwiches. If the ice cream starts to melt, return the sandwiches to the freezer to firm up. Serves 16.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups fresh Bing cherries, stemmed, pitted and halved
6 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Method:

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the water, 3/4 cup of the sugar and the cherries. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and let the cherries steep for 30 minutes. Drain the cherries and discard the syrup. Transfer the cherries to a bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 8 hours.
2. In a food processor, process the cream cheese until smooth, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. Meanwhile, in a saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk, cream and the remaining 3/4 cup sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally to help dissolve the sugar, until bubbles form around the edges of the pan, about 5 minutes.
4. Add about 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture to the cream cheese and process until smooth, about 30 seconds. Add the remaining milk mixture and process for 30 seconds more. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Add the vanilla and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours.
5. Transfer the cream cheese mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. When nearly frozen and the consistency of thick whipped cream, add the cherries. Churn or stir just until mixed. Transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe container. Cover and freeze until firm, at least 3 hours or up to 3 days, before serving. Makes about 1 quart.

What could be more fun than homemade ice cream cones (filled with your favorite ice cream, of course)! Old-fashioned cones were first introduced at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, where they were called "cornucopias." They're easy to make, using a cone maker and delicious to eat, especially when you dip them into semi-sweet chocolate and decorate them with sweets from an Ice Cream Toppings Kit.

Ingredients:
4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
7 waffle cones
Ice Cream Toppings
Ice cream for serving

Method:

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Set the bowl over but not touching simmering water in a small saucepan and melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally, until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the bowl from the pan.
2. Hold a waffle cone upside down over the bowl and spoon some of the chocolate around the rim of the cone, allowing the excess to drip off. Then sprinkle the chocolate rim with the toppings of your choice from the Ice Cream Toppings Kit. Place the cone on its side on the prepared baking sheet and repeat with the remaining cones.
3. Refrigerate the cones until the chocolate has hardened, at least 10 minutes. Scoop your favorite ice cream into the cones. Makes 7 dipped cones.

Phyllo Ice Cream Cups with Summer Fruit

For a fun, unfussy finale to an outdoor party, fill baked phyllo dough cups with strawberry ice cream and sliced fresh strawberries. Other ice cream and fruit combinations, such as vanilla with peaches or apricots, can also be used.

Ingredients:
4 sheets phyllo dough, each about 12 by 16- inches, thawed if frozen
4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
2 quarts strawberry ice cream
2 cups sliced strawberries
Whipped cream for serving (optional)
Sliced peaches for serving (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat an oven to 325°F. Butter a 12-cup standard or nonstick muffin pan.
2. Lay one phyllo sheet on a piece of waxed paper or aluminum foil. Brush thoroughly with some of the melted butter. Top with the remaining 3 sheets, brushing each one with some of the butter. Cut the stack of sheets into pieces about 4 inches square so you have 12 layered squares in all. Tuck each layered square into a prepared muffin cup, pressing it in gently with your fingertips.
3. Bake until the cups are crisp and golden, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand until cool enough to handle. Then remove from the muffin cups and let cool completely on wire racks.
4. Just before serving, place each cup on a dessert plate. Fill each cup with a scoop of ice cream and top with sliced strawberries. Garnish with a dollop of whipped cream and a peach slice, and serve immediately. Serves 12.