Friday, August 15, 2014

Homemade Ice Pops: Toddler Tested & Approved

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One of the things I've been playing around with this summer are homemade ice pops. A fantastic friend of mine picked up a few molds for me from IKEA (the closest one to me is a good 2+ hours away) and sent them my way so I could make fresh pops all summer.

If you missed my first adventure into the world of homemade pops, check out my Simply Pineapple Pops. They're still one of my favorites by far, so fresh and delicious!

I want to share two pop recipes with you, one is a simple fudge pop whose flavor is far from simple. So fudgy, delicious and addicting! You can also easily make them with lowfat or alternative milks like almond or coconut milk since cornstarch is added to thicken the mixture.  I used a whole milk because its what I had on hand, but have since given them a try with lower fat milks and got great results!

The second pop is another favorite, an Earl Grey Tea Latte pop.  Sounds a little bizarre, I know, but if you love this tea like I do, it's a winner!  You could also try it with other types of tea, a simple black tea, Darjeeling would be delicious or even Lady Grey tea to bring in some of those citrus notes. This is one where you'd want a higher fat milk or cream to get the right texture since it isn't cooked.  You can give canned coconut milk a try, but it might overpower the flavor of the tea.  My favorite combo so far has been Steeped Tea brand "Earl Grey de la Creme" and heavy cream.  The mixture makes 8 normal-sized ice pops so you're not getting too decadent of a snack, even with the heavy cream mixed in.

Surprisingly, my two-year-old like the tea latte pops the best.  She was a fan of the pineapple ones as well, but kept coming back for more bites of the tea ones. Apparently I have a little tea lover in training on my hands!

I found this Homemade Fudgesicle recipe on Chocolate Moosey and literally didn't change a thing! Feel free to customize it with your own types of milk, it is delicious no matter how you make it.

Homemade Fudgesicles

Ingredients
1 oz chopped semisweet chocolate (I used chocolate chips)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp. cornstarch
2 tbsp. cocoa powder
1 cup milk (I used whole)
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tbsp. unsalted butter

Instructions
Melt the chocolate in a small saucepan, then whisk in the sugar, cornstarch, cocoa, milk and salt until completely smooth.  Let the mixture thicken (about 5-10 minutes), then remove from the heat and add in the vanilla and butter.

Pour into ice pop molds, add sticks and freeze at least 4 hours or overnight. This recipe doubles well, the original recipe makes 6 small IKEA-sized pops.

Printable Fudgesicle Recipe

The recipe for the tea latte pops is so simple, check it out below!

Earl Grey de la Creme Latte Pops

Ingredients
1 cup boiling water
2 tea bags of Earl Grey de la creme (or your favorite earl grey tea)
1 tbsp. honey or agave
1 cup heavy cream

Instructions
Add the tea bags to the boiling water and steep for 10-15 minutes (cover the cup). Remove the tea bags and stir in the honey  until dissolved well.

Let the tea mixture cool for about 20 minutes, then whisk in the heavy cream. Pour into the ice pop molds, insert sticks and freeze for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Printable Earl Grey de la Creme Latte Pops Recipe

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