Frozen yogurt fruit pops
June 14th, 2010
It’s about this time every year that I get so excited about all the fresh fruit that is in season that I tend to go a bit overboard. Cherries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries. strawberries, melons, mangoes… the list seems unending.
What ends up happening in all of my fruit crazed haze is I buy it all – and then of course I can’t eat it fast enough before it starts to become overripe.
Last Tuesday that is exactly what had happened. I had one extra large cantaloupe that was wafting it’s ripe sent over half the kitchen, a bag full of softening cherries, a carton of strawberries, and a container full of fresh black raspberries I couldn’t resist picking from wild bushes growing along the old railroad trail that runs behind our property (and making raspberry leaf tea from the leaves!).
I decided the only way to handle so much ripe fruit at one go was to puree it and make homemade frozen yogurt fruit pops.
These really did turn out so good and so very simple.
I pureed all my fruit, added a quart of vanilla yogurt and a teaspoon of vanilla extract, poured it all into paper cups (just use a ladle so you prevent the mess I made first pour!), froze them for 20 minutes, inserted the popsicle sticks, and then finished off the freeze. My fruit was so sweet and ripe I did not need to add any extra sweetener, though I imagine a bit of honey would be lovely if desired or needed.
I’ve been feeding these slightly defrosted into a slushy smoothie to little Jonathan for the past week. He gets all kinds of excited when I pull one out of the freezer;
“What’s that?!” he exclaims, eyes wide each time with anticipation (and impatience), “Mmmmmm. I want it! I want it!”
-some of his favorite 21 month old expressions-
Our hydrangeas are in bloom now and our many mulberry trees are littering the ground with their sweet fruit faster than we can collect. I made strawberry mulberry jam recently, though I’m afraid that that hardly made a dent in the overall crop. I imagine the birds of the yard are thankful we have not been able to keep up as they seem ever fond of the prolific berries.
Now that summer is here we have been busy biking, swimming, and gardening, and I am in neck deep in my business at the moment. I hope to share more about that soon, but right now I simply want to say that I am going to do my best to post at least every two weeks, but I may cut back a bit on photos as I tend to spend what I believe is a bit of an obsessive amount of time reviewing and editing, and I really just want to enjoy this blog without it taking me four days to put together a post!
Frozen yogurt fruit pops
4-5 cups pureed ripe fruit*
1 quart vanilla yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
honey (optional, to taste*)
wooden popsicle sticks
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir thoroughly. Pour mixture into paper cups or popsicle molds. Place in the freezer for 20 minutes and then insert popsicle sticks and allow to finish freezing (at least three more hours). Once pops are frozen, place in airtight container, and return to the freezer.
Alternatively, before you puree your fruit, freeze it and then combine all ingredients in a blender to make a yogurt fruit smoothie. In this case, I would reduce all the ingredients and make just enough for what you want to eat at that time, otherwise you will end up with a large number of smoothies that will need to either be eaten or frozen into pops!
*I used 1/2 of 1 large cantaloupe, 1 pint strawberries, 3/4 cup pitted fresh cherries, and 1 1/2 cups black raspberries.
*if you want to use honey, I suggest starting with a couple of tablespoons and then add more to taste.
Tags: bars, frozen yogurt, fruit, popsicle, raspberry tea, smoothie
Posted in Sweet | 13 Comments »
13 Responses to “Frozen yogurt fruit pops”
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How pretty-a splash of color!I like the plate too:)
Thanks so much Nisrine. The china was my great aunt’s.
Anxiously awaiting for the news from you. The frozen pops look inviting for these hot days and as usual photos are gorgeous. I love the china, too.
I’ll be talking more about the business as it evolves – I’m always hesitant as this blog is my personal retreat and I do not want it to be about the business – though it is about my life and cooking, so I will talk about it when I have something substantial to show for all the work I’ve been up to! Thanks for being interested, though!
The china was my great aunt’s – I’ve had it since college and have loved it dearly.
Those look delightful.
For my friend’s 21st birthday I did something similar using a recipe I got from… I want to say, Gourmet magazine… I made lemon-raspberry vodka pops and chocolate bourbon pops. The alcohol could have easily been left out for a virgin treat. I will have to give the yogurt versions a try, I always want to buy more fruit, but like you, can never go through it in time. I must have two pounds of bananas in my freezer patiently waiting to be turned into banana bread.
I know I’ve been away for too long, but do keep up the blog, I look forward to your entries!
Thanks Liz. Your spiked pops sound amazing (I knew these were missing something (:)!
I am not planning to stop with the blog – I just feel bad that I have had to slow down and have not been keeping up with everyone else’s blogs as well as I would like – just a busy time, but it should even out in time. ( : Thanks for the encouragement.
Life happens, I think we all understand that. I know I’ve been pretty lax with keeping up with the blog world lately. It’s hard between two jobs, a social life, and summer with it’s beautiful weather rolling around. Who wants to be in front of a computer? (Especially after you’ve spent your work day in front of one, like I do.)
that’s quite the medley of fruits! i can state with certainty that they created a beautiful hue, and i think it’s probably safe to say they made a terrific blended flavor as well. gorgeous work, laura.
Laura, what a fun idea! I bet the yogurt adds great flavor and creamy texture to plain ol’ freezer pops! The kids are going to LOVE this.
We have mulberry trees in our neighborhood. Last week I made all sort of mulberry treats, may post a couple next week. I didn’t however make jam–not sure why!
Great idea. I love that it’s just blend and freeze. Black raspberries. I have never heard of such a thing. Where have I been? This is going on my list to do this summer. Thank you!
Looks like a healthy and delicious treat! The raspberries and the tea sound so nice. Your hydrangeas are beautiful like always. Summer is so lovely at your home.
I think this is a fabulous idea for a hot afternoon or garden party. They look perfect and delicious. Thanks!
Thanks everyone – I appreciate all of your kind words! Right now I am fixing shrimp tacos with lime, cilantro and garlic and fresh pico and guac! If it was light out I’d take a picture and share – will have to make again soon… Ah, summertime!