[1]Some people gauge when summer is upon us at the temperature, I gauge it by when my kids start asking for popsicles at the store. In all honesty, I don’t buy popsicles at the store, they are riddled with dyes, corn syrup and who knows what else. The popsicle companies can make them into cute shapes and cartoon figures to lure unsuspecting buyers, but they can’t fool me. When I pass by them, all I see are red flags.
Needless to say, I make my own popsicles and the kids love to participate in the making of them. In fact, they are coming up with their own recipes for popsicles. Their latest has been incorporating homemade yogurt [2] into their favorite treats.
Yogurt Berry Popsicles
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 lemon
- 1 1/2 cups plain unsweetened Greek-style yogurt
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 cups fresh berries or fruit puree
Directions:
- Combine the water and sugar in a small saucepan to make simple sugar. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring, just until the mixture comes to a boil and the sugar has dissolved.
- Rinse the lemon and then shave zest into long strips. Add the strips of lemon zest to the pan of sugar water, lower the heat to medium, and simmer for 5 minutes. Let the syrup cool to room temperature. Strain the syrup through a fine-mesh sieve, then refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour.
- Add the yogurt and honey to the chilled syrup and stir until thoroughly combined.
- Add berries or fruit puree to yogurt mixture and stir until incorporated.
- Pour yogurt mixture into each of the molds, pouring to a height of about 3/4 inch. Freeze until the mixture begins to set, about 40 minutes.
- If using conventional molds, snap on the lid and freeze until solid, 3 to 4 hours. If using glasses or other unconventional molds, freeze until the pops are beginning to set (45 minutes to 1 hour), then insert the sticks and freeze until solid, 3 to 4 hours.
These treats are sure to please kids of all ages. Best of all, you can feel confident knowing that you are giving your kids treats that are absent of dyes and corn syrup. It’s just pure, tasty goodness.
