This is a good time of year to make some frozen treats such as ice pops, especially ones made with fruit. When I was a kid, we mostly made ice pops with powdered drink mixes, such as Kool-Aid. My favorites were strawberry, cherry and root beer flavors. We poured the liquid into metal ice-cube trays and could hardly wait for the treats to be ready. Now I use plastic ice pop molds, but since my kids have grown up, I haven’t been making the treats like I once did.
Whether or not you have young children to make ice pops for, they are tasty for people of any age. Join me this summer in celebrating the warm weather with some ice-cold frozen treats. Hope you find something you like.
Strawberry blueberry yogurt pops
1 3/4 cups (about 14 ounces) vanilla yogurt
2 tablespoons honey
1 1/4 cups each sliced fresh strawberries and fresh or frozen blueberries
12 freezer pop molds or paper cups (3-oz. each and wooden pop sticks
1. In a blender, process 2 tablespoons yogurt, 1 tablespoon honey and 1 cup strawberries. Place in a bowl and set aside. Chop remaining strawberries and stir into the yogurt mixture.
2. Process 2 tablespoons yogurt, remaining honey and 1 cup blueberries. Remove to a bowl and stir in remaining blueberries.
3. In each mold, layer 1 tablespoon strawberry mixture, 2 tablespoons yogurt and 1 tablespoon blueberry mixture and top with holders. (If using paper cups, top with foil and insert sticks through the foil.) Freeze until firm. Makes 12 pops.
Coconut lime pops
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1 can (14-ounces) coconut milk
Grated zest of 1 lime
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1. Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
2. Combine remaining ingredients with simple syrup in blender and process until blended. Pour into 3-ounce molds and freeze for at least 4 hours, or until firm. Makes 8 pops.
Orange yogurt pops
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/3 cup heavy cream
1. Combine the orange juice and zest in a blender and process for about 30 seconds. Add the remaining ingredients and process until smooth.
2. Pour into 3-ounce molds and freeze for at least 4 hours.
Strawberry mango pops
1/2 cups strawberries (fresh or frozen)
1 1/2 cup mango pieces (fresh or frozen)
1 1/4 cup coconut water
1 teaspoon (or more) honey
1. Puree strawberries with half of the coconut water in a blender or food processor. Taste the mixture and blend in honey to desired sweetness, if needed.
2. Puree mango with the other half of the coconut water in a blender or food processor. Taste the mixture and blend in honey to desired sweetness, if needed.
3. Alternately pour each fruit mixture into pop molds and freeze until set. Makes about 10 pops.
Banana orange smoothie pops
7 ounces Greek yogurt
2/3 cup thawed orange juice concentrate
2 bananas
1 tablespoon lime juice
1. Puree all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Pour into ice pop molds or paper cups and then insert a stick in the center.
2. Freeze pops until they are firm enough to eat, about 6 hours.