When the livin' is easy, sweeten long summer days with dessert that's easy, too--like a bowl of homemade ice cream. To learn the basics, start with the Salt & Straw Ice Cream Cookbook (Clarkson Potter, $25). The hit chain's cofounder Tyler Malek promises "making ice cream is fun and easy, I swear" and, with cowriter JJ Goode, he offers recipes and tricks to re-create Salt & Straw hit flavors or invent your own. (Do yourself a favor and start, though, with Salt & Straw's famous Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons.) Then, go a round with The Perfect Scoop, Revised and Updated (Ten Speed, $24.99) by ice cream authority David Lebovitz. Master the custard base or just or call it 5 o'clock somewhere and dive into a Spritz Sorbet or Negroni Slush.
For plant-based treats that feel almost virtuous--or at least free from refined and artificial sweeteners--see "Miss Marzipan" blogger Marisa Alvarsson's Naturally Sweet Vegan Treats (Page Street, $21.99). Try the creamy-dreamy Neapolitan Ice-Cream Cake or the Lime & Berry Tartlets that pack a "a zesty punch" with bright hits of lime. Stay fruit-forward with The Peach Truck Cookbook (Scribner, $28) from husband-and-wife peach-truckers Jessica N. and Stephen K. Rose, whose take on a classic Peach Pie calls for a game-changing tablespoon of apple cider vinegar (hello, tender crust) and whose luscious Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Macerated Peaches "kids might call fancy Jell-O and adults would call heaven."
Evi Aki, "Ev's Eats" blogger, offers mostly savory fare in Flavors of Africa (Page Street, $21.99), but she also includes several standout desserts, such as easy-breezy Malva Pudding, and two particularly delicious doughnut recipes, Nigerian Puff Puffs and Kenyan Mandazi. Either would be perfect on a summer evening with a handful of juicy, fresh berries--and maybe even a homemade scoop of ice cream on the side? --Katie Weed, freelance writer and reviewer