Berry Popsicles

Jerad loves eating anything with berries in it, especially popsicles.  It's his oral fixation thing. Anyone who's met him knows this...he chews tobacco, eats & spits sunflower seeds, etc. He always has something in his mouth. I know, I know...it sounds dirty. [insert oral fixation joke here]

We bought some frozen fruit pops a few weeks ago, and he quickly devoured them. However, one of Jerad's quirks is that he doesn't like certain textures in his mouth. [insert another dirty joke here] He can't stand how the wooden popsicle sticks feel. It was painful to watch him try to finish each fruit pop without actually touching the wood with his lips or tongue. [the dirty jokes just write themselves]

So, I bought some plastic Tovolo popsicle molds at Kitchen Conservatory and made a batch of mixed berry popsicles for him.

For the first batch, I pureed strawberries & blackberries with some simple syrup & lemon juice. They were so good, sweet & refreshing...and so much better than the store-bought versions. In fact, in a side-by-side taste test, the homemade popsicles actually made the store-bought ones taste really gross...too sweet, too "fake" fruit tasting (and we got the "real fruit juice" kind).

Even though we really liked our first attempt at popsicles, we thought the blackberry seeds were a little annoying...again with the texture thing. The next time we used strawberries only. (Of course, you could use any kind of berries & simply strain the puree before filling the popsicle molds.) Instead of adding simple syrup, we added just a bit of water to help smooth out the berries with a couple tablespoons of honey for sweetness.

These have become our new favorite summer treats!

Berry Popsicles

2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
3 cups berries *
1/4  cup  fresh lemon juice

* Can be a combination of any berries or fruit (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, cherries, etc).  If using strawberries, hull & slice them before using.

• Boil sugar & water in a small saucepan, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat & set aside.
• Combine the berries & lemon juice in a blender and purée until smooth, about 30 seconds. Add 1/3 cup of the simple syrup & blend until just combined. Taste & add more syrup if desired.
• Transfer the purée to popsicle molds & freeze for at least 4 hours. (If you are using molds that do not come with sticks & lids...like ice cube trays...insert wooden popsicle sticks after 4 hours & freeze an additional 4-6 hours or until frozen solid.)