If you can’t even imagine turning on the oven during the summer heat, no-bake desserts are the perfect alternatives to your usual fresh baked cookies. These oven-free desserts are just as delicious as more traditional options, and they’re often much easier to prepare, which leaves you with more time for lounging by the pool! Here are three no-bake dessert recipes to try at your next potluck dinner.

7-Layer Ice Cream Cake [marthastewart.com]
Cool off after a summer dinner with this colorful ice cream cake. Pound cake creates a sweet, dense base stacked between layers of tasty vanilla ice cream, while thick meringue is a wonderfully fluffy replacement for the usual heavy icing.

Creamy Layered Lemon Squares [snackworks.com]
Swap out your usual lemon square recipe for something much quicker — and cooler. Basic graham crackers create a crunchy crust, and the addition of ripe strawberries makes this dessert perfect for the summertime.

Hawaiian Cookie Balls [kraftrecipes.com]
The kids will adore these fun and tasty cookie balls made with sweet, crushed pineapple and flaky coconut. You can also decorate them with colorful gel icings and sprinkles to turn them into fun ducks or chickens for a child’s birthday party.

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Leonce Antiques has a reputation for exceeding its customers' expectations with a carefully curated selection of antiques, all of which are lovingly displayed in this beloved establishment. The store boasts 10,000 square feet of space, making it optimal for storing larger items as well as maintaining a massive selection of goods. Leonce is perhaps best known for its phenomenal silver dining ware selections, but the store also features an array of home décor items unavailable at similar establishments. Despite the store's large size, browsing is a joy thanks to the thorough organization of the pieces. While much of the merchandise is on the expensive side, the pieces showcased here are one-of-kind items meant to be collected for generations. More like a museum than an antiques shop, Leonce Antiques is the perfect place for that rare item with which to beautify your home.

Leonce Antiques
1435 Post Rd East
Westport, CT 06880
(203) 254-8448
http://www.leonceantiques.com/
http://www.yelp.com/biz/leonce-antiques-westport

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Both visitors and residents agree that Westport’s Compo Beach is the premiere spot for fun and relaxation. Offering a beautiful view of the Long Island Sound, Compo Beach is composed of 29 acres of gorgeous sand, in addition to many recreational facilities. The variety of multi-purpose recreation areas cater to more active visitors, while the beach itself offers the perfect environment for some much-needed relaxation. Concession stands are available, offering visitors a chance to replenish before enjoying more fun in the sun. Let the kids run wild at the lavish play area while mom and dad catch up on some much-needed quality time. While the parking fee is a bit more expensive than at similar beaches, it allows Compo Beach to maintain the higher standard that visitors have come to expect. Both kids and adults are sure to love Compo Beach, making it the ideal place for the whole family.

Compo Beach
260 Compo Beach Road
Westport, CT 06880
(203) 341-5090
http://www.westportct.gov/index.aspx?page=321
http://www.yelp.com/biz/compo-beach-westport

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