Slushed! Part 2

Divide the raspberries up among the pop molds. Pour the peach mixture over the raspberries, leaving inch at the top. Freeze until slushy, then insert a stick into each. Freeze overnight, until solid.

Bubbly Tip Don't waste fancy champagne on these. There are plenty of inexpensive sparkling wines (like prosecco or cava) that will do just fine.

Blueberry Basil Martini Pops

You might be thinking that blueberry and basil seem like an unlikely couple, but you're in for a ridiculously delicious treat. The pops have a deep berry flavor, with a sweet hint of fragrant pepper from basil-infused simple syrup.

MAKES ABOUT 810 POPS 1 cup sugar 1 cup water 1 cups fresh basil, loosely packed 4 cups fresh blueberries 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice cup vodka Combine the sugar and water together in a small pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar completely dissolves. Add the basil and stir. Remove from the heat, cover, and cool to room temperature to make a basil-infused simple syrup. Strain, discarding the solids.

Puree the blueberries, lemon juice, and basil syrup in your blender in batches. Strain into a large bowl, mas.h.i.+ng the puree around with a spoon to extract as much liquid as you can. Discard the solids. Whisk in the vodka.

Fill the pop molds with the blueberry mixture, leaving inch at the top. Freeze until slushy, then insert a stick into each. Freeze overnight, until solid.

Caipirinha Pops with Candied Lime

The caipirinha, Brazil's national c.o.c.ktail, is made with cachaca, a strong sugar cane brandy that can knock you on your rump if you're not careful. This milder, frozen version is studded with sweet, paper-thin rounds of candied lime.

MAKES ABOUT 810 POPS FOR THE CANDIED LIME.

1 large whole lime, sliced into paper-thin rounds cup sugar cup water FOR THE POPS.

cup lime juice (from about 6 large limes) 1 cups sugar 2 cups water Zest from 6 large limes cup cachaca Make the candied lime by slicing the lime into thin rounds. Remove and discard any seeds. Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Drop the slices into boiling water and blanch for about 2 minutes to remove any bitterness. Drain in a colander.

Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a small pot over high heat, stirring occasionally. Add the blanched lime slices. Simmer for about 15 minutes, until the slices are translucent. Remove the pot from the heat and let the peels cool to room temperature in the syrup.

Remove the cooled peels from the syrup with a slotted spoon and set them on a wire rack overnight, until completely dry. Store between layers of waxed paper in the fridge until ready to use. (These can be prepared up to three days ahead of time.) Make the pops by putting the sugar, water, and lime zest in a medium-sized pot and bringing the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves. Remove the pot from heat. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and let it cool to room temperature. Strain and discard the solids.

Stir in the lime juice and cachaca. Pour the mixture into the pop molds, leaving inch at the top. Freeze until slushy. Using a stick, insert a couple of candied lime pieces into each pop. Once the lime pieces are in place, leave the stick in as the handle. Freeze overnight, until solid.

Spiced Hard Cider Pops

These pops get a double dose of apple flavor from fresh cider and hard cider. Try using cinnamon sticks instead of regular wooden sticks for a little extra flavor and a fun, fragrant way to serve.

MAKES 810 POPS 2 cups fresh, unfiltered apple cider 3 tablespoons sugar 1 cups hard apple cider, such as Woodchuck Cider teaspoon ground allspice teaspoon ground cinnamon teaspoon ground cloves 810 whole cinnamon sticks Put the unfiltered apple cider and sugar in a medium-sized pot over high heat. Cook, whisking occasionally, until the mixture just starts to bubble at the edges and the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl, and cool to room temperature.

Stir in the hard cider and ground allspice, ground cinnamon, and ground cloves. Pour the mixture into the pop molds, leaving inch at the top. Freeze until slushy. Insert a whole cinnamon stick into each to serve as the handle. Freeze overnight, until solid.

Cider Tip For the best flavor, get fresh, unfiltered cider from a local orchard if you can. For the hard cider, use regular bottled hard cider, or lighter, sparkling cider.

Chai Tea Pops with Orange Curacao

These pops are sweet and spicy, just like good chai tea. Brew your own tea with chai tea bags-or go all out and infuse the chai mixture yourself.

MAKES 810 POPS 2 cups water 3 chai tea bags cup light brown sugar 1 whole cinnamon stick 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced thin cup orange curacao 1 cup heavy cream teaspoon ground cardamom Bring the water to a boil in a pot on the stove. Remove from heat. Add the chai tea bags, brown sugar, cinnamon stick, and fresh ginger. Cover the pot and let the mixture infuse for about 10 minutes. Strain the mixture, discard the solids, and let cool to room temperature.

Whisk in the orange curacao, cream, and ground cardamom. Pour the mixture into the pop molds, leaving inch at the top. Freeze until slushy. Insert a stick into each. Freeze overnight, until solid.

Homemade Chai Tea

Makes about 2 cups It's really easy to make your own chai at home. Here's a simple recipe: 2 cups water 2 tablespoons loose black tea 1 cinnamon stick 5 green cardamom pods, cracked 3 black peppercorns 3 whole cloves 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced thin Bring all ingredients to a boil in a small pot on the stove. Remove from heat. Cover and infuse for 15 minutes. Strain and cool to room temperature before using.

Watermelon Gimlet Pops

Nothing says summer like fresh watermelon. Except maybe frozen watermelon with gin. (h.e.l.lo, summer on a stick!) These pops are perfect for hot, sultry nights on the back porch, watching fireflies and shooting stars.

MAKES 810 POPS 4 cups fresh seedless watermelon chunks 2 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice cup gin Combine the watermelon, sugar, lime juice, and gin in the blender. Blend until smooth.

Pour the mixture into the pop molds, leaving inch at the top. Freeze until slushy. Insert a stick into each. Freeze overnight, until solid.

Mimosa Pops

Try making these pops in skinny, fluted pop molds, which look kind of like a champagne gla.s.s. They're the perfect treat to serve houseguests on a lazy Sunday morning, right after brunch.

MAKES 810 POPS 2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice 3 tablespoons sugar 1 cup prosecco Combine the orange juice and sugar in a large bowl. Whisk until the sugar completely dissolves. Stir in the prosecco.

Pour the mixture into the pop molds, leaving inch at the top. Freeze until slushy. Insert a stick into each. Freeze overnight, until solid.

Strawberry Daiquiri Pops

You won't find anything like these at your local cantina! Ripe, fresh berries give these pops an intense strawberry flavor.

MAKES 810 POPS 4 cups strawberries, hulled and cut into chunks cup sugar cup water 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice cup light rum Put 3 cups of the strawberries, sugar, and water in a medium-sized pot. Stir to combine. Simmer for about 5 minutes over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl. Cool the mixture to room temperature.

For more texture, set aside cup of this mixture and then blend the rest until smooth. For less texture, place the entire cooled mixture in the blender and blend until smooth. Transfer to a bowl. Stir in the lime juice, light rum, and remaining cup cut strawberries.

Pour the mixture into the pop molds, leaving inch at the top. Freeze until slushy. Insert a stick into each. Freeze overnight, until solid.

Raspberry Limeade Pops with Chambord

These pops are a little bit sweet, a little bit tart-and studded with fresh raspberries. They get their slushy, deep red crowns from a drizzle of Chambord in the bottom of the pop mold.

MAKES 810 POPS 2 cups water cup sugar Zest of 1 lime cup fresh lime juice (about 1012 whole limes) 1 pint fresh raspberries cup Chambord Put the water, sugar, lime juice, and lime zest in a medium-sized pot on the stove over high heat. Simmer, whisking occasionally, until the sugar completely dissolves. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

Drizzle a little Chambord in the bottom of each pop mold. Divide the fresh raspberries up among the molds and drop them in on top of the Chambord. Slowly pour the sugar and lime mixture into the pop molds, leaving inch at the top. Freeze until slushy. Insert a stick into each. Freeze overnight, until solid.

Chapter 3.

Ice Cream

Booze-infused ice cream is pretty darn close to the top of my list of luxurious desserts. Liquor not only contributes a ton of flavor-it also helps keep your ice cream soft and scoopable right out of the freezer. Always choose high-quality ingredients, and use good-quality booze that you would drink.

Ice Cream Making 101 If you've never made ice cream before, never fear. Here's the basic technique.

Mix It Up Gather your ingredients and equipment and organize your works.p.a.ce. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together. Warm the cream and milk together.

Temper the Egg Yolks Slowly drizzle the warm cream into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. This technique, called tempering, raises the temperature of the egg yolks slowly, which keeps them from scrambling. It's what allows you to create the rich, velvety custard base for your ice cream-instead of glop that resembles a failed attempt at making an omelet. This is probably the most difficult part of making ice cream. Once you master it, though, it's a cinch to pull off each time.

Cook the Custard to 170F Return the hot egg mixture to the pot and clip a candy thermometer to the inside. Be sure that it doesn't touch the bottom, as that can give you a false reading. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly. This is important-the whisking helps keep the eggs from congealing on the bottom of the pot. When the mixture hits 170F, strain it immediately into a large bowl to catch any stray bits of cooked egg.

Chill the Custard in an Ice Bath Set the bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice, whisking frequently until the custard cools to room temperature. Refrigerate the bowl of custard until it's chilled completely.

Process and Freeze the Ice Cream Once your mixture is chilled, you're ready to process it in your ice cream maker. Every machine is a little different, so be sure to read the instructions in advance. When it's done, it will probably be about the consistency of soft serve. (Voila, you just made ice cream!) Remember, if you don't have an ice cream maker, use the method in Chapter 1 to freeze it by hand. Transfer it to a container and freeze overnight. Because of the amount of alcohol in these recipes, they'll need several hours to set up. The hardest part is always the waiting.