Popsicles

[blue_dolphin]

Wow, it's been a while!  We haven't had a lick of popsicle weather yet but I decided to get ready anyway.  

I made a Strawberry and Black Pepper Gin & Tonic from a cookbook recipe and decided to turn it into a poptail.  I made a black pepper simple syrup, using tonic instead of water to dissolve the sugar and blended that with the berries.  I added a bit of tonic syrup to up the flavor and a tot of gin.  I gave them a sprinkle of black pepper after unmolding. 

 

Had to make a few classic strawberry & cream pops, too.

 

[blue_dolphin]

Two apricot pops from People's Pops that I don't think I've tried before.  Both apricot with floral notes.

Apricot & lavender

These are sweetened with a lavender simple syrup.  I used a drop of the leftover syrup to adhere a few lavender buds to each pop.  Thinking back, I wish I would have dried the lavender buds that I use to make the syrup and crushed or ground them with sugar.  It would have made a pretty and tasty sprinkle for the pops.  

 

Apricot & Orange Blossom

These are just basic apricot pops with the addition of orange blossom water to taste. 

[DesertTinker]

@blue_dolphin My Popsicle mold arrived today. Thanks, I think…🙃 

I’ll also blame Bon Appétit’s June/July issue with Yogurt-Berry Paletas on the cover.

[DesertTinker]

@blue_dolphinThe prettiest of my first batch. I followed this recipe, but realized when I got home from shopping that I’d forgotten to buy any lemons.  Went online to get ideas and found a lot of (non popsicle) blueberry and ginger recipes, so I grabbed the ginger I had and cut a few “coins” to use for infusing the blueberries. They’re not expertly crafted, but still delicious. I was going to use the wooden sticks, but things came up unexpectedly, so I just used the plastic ones that came with the set.

Oh, and I’ll never match your beautiful tiny lettering on the sticks.😍😍

[blue_dolphin]

19 minutes ago, DesertTinker said:

@blue_dolphinThe prettiest of my first batch. I followed this recipe, but realized when I got home from shopping that I’d forgotten to buy any lemons.  Went online to get ideas and found a lot of (non popsicle) blueberry and ginger recipes, so I grabbed the ginger I had and cut a few “coins” to use for infusing the blueberries. They’re not expertly crafted, but still delicious. I was going to use the wooden sticks, but things came up unexpectedly, so I just used the plastic ones that came with the set.

Oh, and I’ll never match your beautiful tiny lettering on the sticks.😍😍

That sounds really good and looks so pretty. I really like blueberries in popsicles and should make a batch!

Edited June 23, 2023 by blue_dolphin (log)

[blue_dolphin]

Another poptail!  The other day, I made a Cucumber-Basil Gimlet cocktail from Getaway

 

and couldn't resist making a popsicle version.

I wanted it to be pretty and green like the cocktail so I used Persian cucumbers from the farmers market and didn't peel them as I normally would. I made a basil-infused simple syrup for sweetness,  plenty of lime juice to tart things up and just a little gin.  

 

[blue_dolphin]

Paletas de Naranja con Chamoy from Asada

 

What you do here is make a batch of orange pops, unmold them, put a spoon of chamoy into the molds, return the pops to the molds and freeze them again. 
Chamoy is that sweet/tart/slightly spicy sauce that's often sold next to Tajín or other brands of chile/lime/salt and, like the sprinkle, it's also often used on fresh fruit.  I followed a recipe in the book to make my own and am glad I tried as it's easy and the flavor really is much nicer than the bottled stuff.  As written, these are kind of a watery/icy juice pop but the addition of diced orange pieces and the syrupy chamoy on top makes them more interesting.

 

Here's what the orange pops looked like after their first unmolding, before they went back into the molds with the chamoy. 

 

[blue_dolphin]

Chocolate de Agua Paletas from Asada made with Rancho Gordo stoneground chocolate

Super simple, just Mexican chocolate whisked into hot water, a little sugar and a drop of vanilla extract.  I've made other versions that add cinnamon, cayenne or (gasp!) milk and cream and while they are nice, this simple recipe really lets the chocolate flavor shine.  Also surprisingly creamy texture just from the chocolate/water mixture.

 

[kayb]

Can I come to your house and eat popsicles?

[Katie Meadow]

3 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

Chocolate de Agua Paletas from Asada made with Rancho Gordo stoneground chocolate

Super simple, just Mexican chocolate whisked into hot water, a little sugar and a drop of vanilla extract.  I've made other versions that add cinnamon, cayenne or (gasp!) milk and cream and while they are nice, this simple recipe really lets the chocolate flavor shine.  Also surprisingly creamy texture just from the chocolate/water mixture.

 

Kill.   Me.   Now.