Above: Raspberry Hibiscus Ice Pops
Ice cream brings back fond childhood memories; which involve softball, my German Shepard dog and my grandfather. In grade school, i decided to join the “Hazel Valley Hornets” softball team. The baseball jerseys and hats were green and had a yellow and black striped hornet on the front.
Above: Cherry Sour Cream Ice Pops
I had never played softball and i’ve never been one to excel in any sport “from the get-go.” So, i had to practice during my free time and practice i did.
My grandfather, my dog and I would go out to the backyard on a weekly basis and practice. My grandfather would pitch the ball to me, i would hit the ball and “Tasha” my dog would “catch” the ball and bring it back to my grandfather. This cycle would continue until one or all of us got tired.
On game days, my grandfather and “Tasha” would come and cheer me on. This always made me happy, especially if it was my turn on the “roster” to bring soft drinks. My grandfather would pick up the soda for my team; which included my two favorite soft drinks, Root Beer and Dr. Pepper.
Above: Raspberry Hibiscus Ice Pops
But the best memory of the few years i played on the “Hazel Valley Hornets” softball team, was the ice cream. After every softball game, my grandfather would take me to get an ice cream cone from “Dairy Queen.” When we went through the drive-thru they would ask what we wanted. My grandfather would ALWAYS order three ice cream cones; one for me, one for himself and one for “Tasha” our dog.
It was great fun trying to feed a dog an ice cream cone, before it melted. Oh the terrible mess it made, her tongue, splashing around, trying to lap up all the cold ice cream dripping down my hands, on to the carpeted floor in my grandfather 1950’ish station wagon. Puts a smile on my face, as i write this. Such a great memory!
Above: Cherry Sour Cream Ice Pops
Ice pops are a very quick and easy, no fancy techniques required. I will provide recipes for both the Raspberry Hibiscus Ice Pops and Cherry Sour Cream Ice Pops.
- Raspberry hibiscus ice pops ( Adapted from Gerson, Fany. "Hibiscus-Raspberry Ice pops." Paletas)
- Hibiscus cooler
- 1 cup dried hibiscus flowers
- 3 cups water
- ⅔ cup sugar
- Hibiscus raspberry ice pops
- 2 cups hibiscus cooler (recipe above)
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 cups raspberries, fresh or frozen
- Sour cream, cherry ice pops ( Adapted from Gerson, Fany. "Sour cream, cherry and tequila ice pops." Paletas)
- 8 ounces stemmed and pitted cherries, fresh or frozen
- ⅓ cup confectioners' sugar
- 1½ cups whole milk
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 11/2 cups sour cream (or yogurt, cream cheese, mascarpone cheese)
- Hibiscus cooler (makes 4 cups)
- Place the dried hibiscus flowers and 3 cups of water in a bowl and let steep at least 1 hour to overnight.
- Bring the hibiscus to a boil over medium heat, lower to a simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the sugar and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool.
- Strain the flowers from the water, discard flowers.
- Hibiscus raspberry Ice pops
- Mix the raspberries with ¼ cup sugar and let sit until the berries release some of their juices. About 30 minutes. If using frozen berries, don't add sugar.
- Dived the raspberries and their juices among the 8 molds and pour the hibiscus cooler (recipe above) over each raspberry filled mold. Freeze until solid, about 5 hours.
- Sour cream, cherry ice pops
- Put the cherries in a saucepan with the confectioners' sugar and cook over medium heat, stirring, until the mixture comes to a boil and sugar has dissolved. Lower the heat, stir in the lemon juice and simmer, stirring, until syrup has thickened and has a consistency like maple syrup.
- Remove from heat and chill. **If you want to make an "ADULT" ice pop, add tequila or any other alcohol at this stage.
- Drain the cherries (save the juice for another use).
- Combine the milk, granulated sugar and salt in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until sugar has dissolved and mixture just comes to a boil.
- Remove from the heat, add the sour cream (or yogurt, cream cheese, mascarpone cheese). Let cool and chill in the fridge.
- Put a bit of the sour cream mixture into each of the 8 molds, filling the molds about 1 inch.
- Freeze until the mixture begins to set, about 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes take out of the freezer and dived the drained cherry mixture among the 8 molds. Pour the remaining sour cream mixture on top of the 8 cherry filled molds.
- Freeze for at least 5 hours
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