Patriotic pops

I got a Zoku Quick Pop Maker from my sister and brother-in-law this past holiday season, and now that the weather’s warm I’m having waaaay too much fun with it. If you’ve never seen the Zoku, basically it’s this little box that stays in the freezer. When you’re in the mood for an ice pop, pull it out, insert a stick in the slot, pour in some juice, and you’ve got a ready-to-eat ice pop in less than 10 minutes. The only downside is, it makes three pops at a time. With three kids in the house, do the math. I never get to eat my creations (at least from the first batch — you can usually do 2-3 batches with a deep-frozen Zoku before it loses its cool).

Ice pops are a great summer snack, especially when you can make them yourself (and control how much sugar goes into them). With the Fourth of July coming up, I was determined to create a tasty red, white, and blue ice pop recipe, and here it is.

The truth is, this isn’t such an easy process. You’re making three different purees, getting the blender dirty a couple of times, and then being very patient while the ice pops freeze in stages. But the end result is delicious, and looks like a celebration on a stick.

Red, White and Blue “Popsicle” Recipe, yields about 8-12 pops, depending on the size of your mold — you’ll need a Popsicle mold (or a Zoku Quick Pop Maker).

Red
12 strawberries, hulled and halved
juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp agave nectar (or to taste)
pinch salt (optional)

Puree the strawberries with the lemon juice until very smooth. Add the agave nectar one tablespoon at a time until it’s just sweet enough (this will vary based on how sweet your strawberries are). Finish with the pinch of salt, and give it one more whirr around the blender.

White
6 oz vanilla flavored Greek yogurt (I used Chobani)
2/3 cup milk (I used 1%)
juice of one lemon
2 tbsp agave nectar
pinch of salt (optional)

Stir ingredients together in a bowl until smooth.

Blue
one small bag of frozen blueberries, defrosted in a colander to drain the excess liquid
juice of one lime
2 tbsp agave nectar (or to taste)
pinch of salt (optional)

Puree the blueberries and lime juice in a blender until very smooth. Add the agave nectar one tablespoon at a time until it’s just sweet enough. Add the pinch of salt, and give it one more whirr around the blender.

Make the pops
Fill your Popsicle mold about 1/3 full with the red mixture. Let it set in the freezer. Layer the white mixture on top of the frozen red mixture and let it set in the freezer. Finally, add the blue mixture and let the whole thing freeze until firm.

If you are lucky enough to have a Zoku Quick Pop Maker, this will go pretty quickly, and you won’t even need to put the Zoku in the freezer between layers. I also have the Zoku Tools, which is how I was able to get those awesome little strawberry stars into my popsicles (a process that ended up being far easier than I’d expected).

The post Patriotic pops appeared first on Spilling the Beans - Magic Beans.