The 3-Ingredient Frozen Treat That Couldn't Be Easier To Make

Ice cream is often the go-to when we want something sweet and chilly on a hot day. But a treat that brings frozen desserts to another level of refreshing is a worthy top choice contender. This icy confection, called granita, also has the added bonus of being easy to make. All you need is three everyday ingredients and no equipment fancier than a blender.

Granita, which originated in Sicily, is related to shaved ice, Italian ice, and that ice cream truck favorite, the snow cone, but the way it's made creates larger, flaky crystals that give it crunch. Cut up fresh fruit and mix it in a blender with water and sugar, then pour the liquid into a shallow baking pan and put it in the freezer. After an hour or so, break up the ice in the pan by running a fork through it. Return the pan to the freezer and repeat every half hour, dragging the fork through the ice until it looks like fluffy crystals.

The ratio of fruit, water, and sugar varies among recipes, but most suggest 4 cups of chopped fruit, ¼ cup of water and ¼ cup of sugar. You can tweak the measurements from there: For instance, you can reduce the liquid content and use a more hydrating fruit like watermelon, or adjust the sweetness by using less sugar, temper it with a splash of lemon or lime juice, or simply remove it altogether.

Though granita has only a few ingredients, there are endless ways to customize it. You can use any fruit you like, replace some or all of the water with juice, or use brown sugar, honey, or maple syrup. Boost its flavor by blending with fresh herbs like basil or mint with the granita liquid, or a fruit-friendly spice.

One popular granita flavor doesn't use fruit at all. Coffee granita cools you off and perks you up at the same time, and reduces the ingredients to just coffee and sugar. In Sicily, where granita is eaten with brioche for breakfast, other traditional flavors include lemon, orange, and pistachio.

For an adults-only granita, add alcohol. Try a sparkling wine like prosecco, or match or complement flavors like limoncello with lemon or strawberry granita, Kahlua with coffee granita, or Grand Marnier with orange. Just note that alcohol, and especially high-proof liquor, doesn't freeze well, so use a lower-proof one and make it a lesser element of the liquid content. You can also make alcohol the star ingredient in a red wine or champagne granita, but the consistency will be more slushy.

Serve granita in small bowls or glasses, and add garnishes like fruit, whipped cream, or citrus zest, or over ice cream. Also, if you use Ina Garten's simple tip for elevating cocktails, your granita will melt slower if you put the glassware in the freezer ahead of time.