Beat the heat with boozy frozen treats

Whisk together yolks and sugar in a bowl until combined; set aside.

Combine milk and orange peel in a heavy, medium saucepan and scald milk. Remove orange peels.

Gradually whisk milk into yolk mixture in slow streams to temper eggs. Whisk in orange juice, vodka, and vanilla. Return mixture to saucepan and reduce heat to low. Stir constantly until mixture thickens slightly, about 8 minutes, but do not let mixture boil. Strain into medium bowl and refrigerate until chilled.

Pour chilled mixture into an ice cream maker and process according to manfacturer’s instructions. Transfer into an airtight plastic container and freezer for 2 – 4 hours more to firm up gelato.

Just before serving, cut an orange in half and remove pulp. Scoop gelato into orange shell half and garnish with an orange leaf and orange peel star (made using a mini star-shaped canape cutter).

Read Zoku Quick Pop Maker manufacturer’s instructions thoroughly. Freeze pop maker overnight.

Combine water, lemon juice, sugar, and tequila in a bowl. Divide mixture into 3 small bowls. Tint mixture in one bowl red and tint another bowl’s mixture blue.

Remove Zoku Quick Pop Maker from freezer. Pops usually take about 7 to 10 minutes to freeze, but the addition of alcohol and layering takes a bit longer.

To make the Pop design as seen on TODAY, stamp out 1/8-inch thick green apple stars using the star cutter in the Zoku Tools Kit. Then, use the fruit wand to adhere stars to the inside wall of the Pop Maker mold. (Tip: moisten stars with water for better adhesion.)

Place Pop sticks into the molds. Tilt Pop Maker on an angle using the angle tray in the Zoku Tools Kit. Use the siphon in the kit to add 1 tablespoon of red mixture into the Pop Maker mold(s). Allow to freeze completely; about 7 minutes. Tilt the Pop Maker the other way and add 1 tablespoon of white or clear mixture; freeze completely. Place Pop Maker on flat surface and pour blue mixture into molds to fill line. Freeze completely. Remove Pops form mold, slide on a drip cups and enjoy!

Using a funnel, add vodka and watermelon syrup into a small glass bottle the can be fit with a bartender’s pour spout.

Read the Hawaiian Shaved Ice Snow Cone Machine manufacturer’s instructions completely to learn how to assemble and operate the machine.

Fill machine with ice, turn machine on, and dispense snow cone ice into a small bowl. Transfer into a Martini glass, pour vodka watermelon syrup over the top and garnish with a mint sprig.

I’ve found that about 2 tablespoons of vodka watermelon syrup is a good amount, so the recipe above can flavor about 12 snow cones.

Beat butter and sugars in a large bowl until fluffy. Dilute espresso powder in Kahlua, and beat into mixture along with vodka and eggs. Sift together flour, baking powder, and cocoa powder and beat into mixture until combined. Chill dough for about 30 minutes until firm.

Form batches of dough into 1 1/2-inch diameter logs. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill until firm.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover a cookie sheet with wax paper and coat lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Slice off 1/4-inch thick rounds from cookie dough log and reform if necessary into nicely shaped circles. Place on prepared cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Insert a slivered almond into the center of each cookie.

Bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely on cookie sheet.

Scoop 2-3 tablespoons of vanilla ice cream on one cookie and top with another cookie. (You may need to soften the ice cream just a bit.) Smooth around side of ice cream sandwich using a butter knife, and place in a container in the freezer while finishing up remaining sandwiches. Cover container and chill until firm before serving.