Ice Cream Happy Hour: 50 Boozy Treats That You Spike and Freeze at Home

by Valerie Lum and Jenise Addison (Ulysses Press, $14.95, 144 pp)

With summer at our doorstep and temperatures well into the 90s, I’m ready to dust off the ice cream maker, and this cute little book arrives just in time to add new recipes to my repertoire. Anyone who has made ice cream knows that adding alcohol prevents it from freezing hard, which results in a soft texture that never gets solid enough to scoop. That’s why most ice cream recipes that include spirits do so in minimal amounts – you do want it to freeze, after all. After lots of trial and error experimentation, the authors developed a technique to make boozy ice cream that packs a punch while retaining a great consistency.

The book starts with a step-by-step guide to boozy ice cream technique which Lum and Addison, both employed at Bierkraft (a beer and gourmet food specialty shop in Brooklyn), advise readers to follow closely to insure good results. Next come a few simple recipes like vanilla with brandy, and chocolate with Grand Marnier, to get started. The next section, titled “Cocktails in a Cone,” contains flavors like whiskey sour, Manhattan, daiquiri, White Russian, and Cape Cod. Ubiquitous flavors like margarita, piña colada, and mojito are also included, as are unique flavors like fig and barley wine, jasmine tea with sake, and pink peppercorn with vodka. The authors playfully suggest serving the ice creams in glassware appropriate for each cocktail with corresponding garnishes, including paper umbrellas. Color photos serve as guides throughout. The book ends with a section on tipsy sundaes and floats, including a dark and stormy float of ginger beer with a scoop of spiced rum ice cream. Bottoms up!

This article appears in June 1 • 2012.

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Mexico City native Claudia Alarcón has made Austin home since 1984. She worked her way through college in the local restaurant industry, graduating from the University of Texas in 1999. She has been a Chronicle contributor for 15 years and presents lectures and workshops on topics related to the foodways of Mexico, both locally and internationally.