Popsicle of the Week: Creamy Cantaloupe

I hope you all are having a fabulous and long Memorial Day Weekend! This week I am sharing a recipe for Creamy Cantaloupe Popsicles. The recipe for these Creamy Cantaloupe Popsicles was sent to me from one of my favorite blogging friends, Michelle of Ms. En Place. Michelle lives in Louisiana and posts so many wonderful and authentic Cajun and Creole recipes. If you haven't been to her site yet, you will definitely want to pay her a visit soon. Thanks for the recipe, Michelle!

Creamy Cantaloupe Pops
1-1/2 cups cantaloupe, cubed
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup sugar
8 wooden popsicle sticks

1. Place cantaloupe in a blender.
2. Cover and process until smooth; set aside.
3. In a small saucepan, combine the cream and sugar.
4. Cook and stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved.
5. Remove from the heat.
6. Stir in pureed cantaloupe.
7. Pour 1/4 cup into each mold (popsicle mold or 3 oz. plastic cups); insert the popsicle sticks.
Freeze until firm.
Variations:
--instead of heavy cream, half and half can be used
--for an even lighter version, replace the cream with 8 oz yogurt. Skip the heating instructions and instead toss everything in a blender.

Notes/Results: The good people at Zoku saw my blog post last week where I had mentioned having trouble with my Zoku Quick Pop Maker. They left a comment on my post stating that recipes with a high fat content (like cream, half & half, or whole milk) did in fact result in a "soft pull", whereby the fat doesn't freeze solid enough to adhere to the popsicle stick. Zoku is in the process of writing their own cookbook, but states that using yogurt is a good alternative. In addition, Zoku has their own blog @ www.zokuhome.com. and can also be found on Twitter. Both sites have tips and tricks for using your Zoku Quick Pop Maker. Thanks Zoku for your response!
Because the cantaloupe popsicles were going to contain cream, I used my old-fashioned Tupperware molds. I bought one smaller-sized cantaloupe and it was more than enough to yield the 1 and 1/2 cups cantaloupe needed for this recipe. This is good news for us because we love melon at my house and had no problems finishing off the rest of the melon. With three ingredients, these pops were a snap to make and we all really enjoyed them! They had a wonderfully creamy consistency, which was improved greatly if allowed to sit on the counter 3-5 minutes prior to serving. A fun and unique way to enjoy cantaloupe.

I also want to mention that my friend Deb @ Kahakai Kitchen posted popsicles as well. Click HERE to see her
Cucumber, Lime, Mint & Rum Pops. She also made some tasty Mexican Chocolate pops which can be found HERE.