Easy Summer Desserts

It's summer and the berries are plentiful!

Berries are available all year round in most areas, but there is nothing quite like easy dessert recipes made from summer fresh berries.

You can certainly make any of these recipes any time of the year, but they will be especially appreciated as cool summer treats.
Summer Fruit Bowl

Feel free to mix the berries you use in this recipe to suit your taste. Raspberries would be wonderful too.

16 lady finger halves
1 tablespoon sherry or orange juice
1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 cup seedless green grapes
1 cup flaked coconut
1 - 14 ounce can pineapple chunks, well drained
1 cup dairy sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sprinkle the lady fingers with sherry or orange juice and line 1½ quart severing bowl with the cookies. Combine strawberries, blueberries and grapes. Mix coconut, pineapple, sour cream and extract. Stir this mixture lightly into the fruit. Spoon it all into the lined bowl. Chill before serving.

Makes 8 - 10 servings

Strawberry Peach Sherbet

The perfect summer dessert when these fruits are at their freshest.

4 large peaches
1 pound fresh strawberries, chopped
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup superfine sugar

Add the peaches to boiling water and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the peaches from the pot and immerse in cold water. When the peaches are cool enough to handle, remove the skins and stones.

Mash the peaches into a pulp in a large mixing bowl. Pureé the peach pulp, strawberries and lemon juice in a food processor. Stir the sugar into the fruit mixture and pureé for another 10-15 seconds. Pour the mixture into a large, shallow dish and freeze until hard.

To serve:
Remove the dish from the freezer 1 hour before serving and let the sherbet soften in the refrigerator.

Mixed Berry Brown Betty

The surprise addition of a bit of white wine definitely makes this one ready for company. Use any mix of berries you prefer.

2 1/2 cups blueberries
1 cup strawberries, quartered
2 1/2 cups raspberries
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
2/3 cup white wine (or substitute apple juice)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/3 cup unsalted butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon
dash salt
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups dry bread crumbs
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Toss the berries with 3/4 cup brown sugar, the wine and the lemon juice. Set aside.

Melt the butter with the cinnamon, salt and 2 tablespoons brown sugar in a pot. In a separate bowl, blend bread crumbs and graham cracker crumbs. Pour the butter mixture over the crumbs and blend them together well.

Spoon 1/3 of the crumb mixture evenly into the bottom of 6 or 8 ramekins or the bottom of a square baking dish. Add half the berry mixture, then spoon over another 1/3 of the crumbs. Add the remaining berry mixture and finish with the remaining crumb mixture. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until fruit is bubbly and crumbs are browned.

This berry treasure tastes great eaten while it is still warm topped with whipped cream or ice cream.
Enjoy your summer and all the delicious bounty that fresh summer fruits have to offer.

Karen Ciancio is a cook and lover of all things food and cooking related. Her website www.CookingNook.com contains hundreds of recipes, cooking tips, measurement conversions, kitchen ideas and diet and nutritional information. Look for more easy summer dessert recipes here.