Farmers market season is in full force all over Tacoma, making farm-fresh food easy to bring right to the dinner table. But let's face it, a big juicy apple or beautiful bunch of greens isn't always what you are hankering for. The summer sunshine is blazing from above, your forehead is glistening with beads of sweat, and all you really want to do is nosh on a cold, sweet treat.

You're in luck. With each farmers market, among the fresh-cut bundles of flowers, delicious aromas from food vendors wafting through the air and right alongside the selection of local fruits and veggies, you will find several folks looking to help you indulge your sweet tooth with ice-cold nibbles.

Ice Cream Social offers handcrafted natural ice cream with intriguing flavors like salted caramel, coconut chocolate chip and anise, as well as traditional faves like chocolate and vanilla. Using locally sourced ingredients whenever possible, Ice Cream Social can fill your creamy cravings while remaining guilt-free with gluten-free and vegan options. icecreamsocialtacoma.com, Tacoma.

Hilltop Pop Shop, fronted by Tacomans Krista Keithly and Bridgett Crews, features handmade frozen cicles of icy goodness using natural, locally sourced ingredients. From refreshing flavor combos like minty melon to tart herbal-infused varieties like rosemary lemon and fruity flavors like granny rhubarb, Hilltop Pop Shop will help you cool down. hilltoppopshop.com, Tacoma.

BC Frozen Treats is another go-to if you're looking to fill your hankering without the ensuing calorie guilt. It serves up frozen natural fruits like bananas and strawberries (sometimes even filled with cream cheese), which are then dipped in chocolate. Kick it up a notch for your nutty folks by rolling them in nuts. Morton, Wash.

My Newt Mini Donuts not only serves up delicious teeny donuts as the name indicates, but also scoops up a colorful childhood favorite with its shaved ice cones. With an astonishing 22 flavors to choose from, you can indulge the need to cool down with a rainbow variety of flavored ice and even mix and match if you're feeling indecisive. Puyallup.

Tacoma Farmers Markets include:

• Broadway Market, Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., 9th and Broadway, Tacoma
• 6th Avenue Market, Tuesdays, 2-7 p.m., Sixth and Pine, Tacoma
• South Tacoma Market, Sundays, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., MetroParksSTAR Center, 3873 S. 66th St., Tacoma
• Proctor Farmers Market, Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., North 27th and Proctor, Tacoma