Popsicle of the Week: Pineapple

My husband surprised us today with the Zoku Quick Pop Maker!! I thought I was going to have to wait another week or two to get the pop maker, but my husband took notice of how much the kids love the popsicles and bought it on his own. My three year old son, The Popsicle King, didn't understand that he needed to wait 4 hours for the popsicles to freeze in our molds. We found him in the freezer several times drinking the popsicles before they had a chance to freeze over. I think my son's impatience was part of the reason my husband went out and bought the Zoku. Either way, I am more than thrilled to have such a fun new kitchen gadget!

We quickly put the Zoku into the freezer so that we could make popsicles with it as soon as possible. The Zoku needs 24 hours to freeze through and then it will make up to 9 popsicles before needing to be placed in the freezer again. It makes 3 popsicles per batch, each batch taking only 7 minutes! The Zoku also makes it easier to make layered or filled popsicles because of it's quick freeze ability. I can't wait to get started and have fun with it.

This week I have two popsicles to share with you, both made the old-fashioned way. The first popsicle is a Cherry-Vanilla Smoothie Pop made with some leftover Cherry-Vanilla Smoothie from Ellie Krieger's book So Easy. I wasn't sure how the smoothie would be as a popsicle, but it was delicious and creamy. We just poured the leftover smoothie into molds and let it set up in the freezer for about 4 hours. I really felt good about my son eating these because they were a mix of yogurt, milk, cherries, vanilla and a little bit of honey. I will definitely be freezing any leftover smoothies in popsicle molds from now on.

Since it is my daughter's birthday tomorrow, I let her pick out this week's popsicle. She chose the Pineapple Pop from the Fruity Ice Pops Chapter in Shelly Kaldunski's new book, Ice Pops.

Pineapple Pops
adapted from Ice Pops by Shelly Kaldunski
Makes 10-12 pops, depending on molds, sizes, etc.
*We filled 12 (2.5oz) molds and two shot glasses
1 pineapple, peeled and cored
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
pinch of salt
Cut the pineapple into quarters and remove the core. Chop the flesh. You should have about 4 cups.
In a saucepan, combine the pineapple, sugar, and salt. Pour in 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has completely dissolved and the pineapple has absorbed some of the syrup, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
Pour the pineapple mixture into a blender or food processor. Process until very smooth.
If using conventional ice pop molds, divide the mixture among the molds. Cover and freeze until solid, at least 4 hours or up to 3 days. If using sticks, insert them into the molds when the pops are partially frozen, after about 1 hours, then continue to freeze until solid, at least 3 more hours.
If using an instant pop maker, follow the manufacturer's instructions to fill the molds and freeze the pops.

Notes/Results: The pineapple pops were amazing! Refreshing and sweet, they were the perfect dessert! We all enjoyed them! This is a convenient recipe because it calls for so few ingredients and is really simple to put together. The recipe makes 10-12 pops, depending on your molds. We made 12 (2.5 oz.) popsicles and had enough left to fill two shot glasses. I cut some sturdy straws in half and used them for sticks, which worked out great.

Next week I'll be announcing the giveaway for Shelly Kaldunski's Ice Pops book!

Happy Monday!