Strawberry Lime Black Pepper Popsicles
Get ready. This blog is about to become very popsicle-focused.
Also, more importantly, Happy Mother’s Day! Mom, when you come down to visit, I promise to have perfected a coconut version of these.
Last week I saw popsicle molds at Whole Foods and, in possibly my best impulse buy of the current phase of the pandemic, decided I needed them. I like cold desserts for the summer, but ice cream is kind of fussy, mostly because of how many egg yolks it takes. Popsicles, however, are quick, require no egg yolks, and even get Erik approval (since they’re basically frozen fruit on a stick).
I’m currently working these recipes to make 5 pops because that’s the size mold I bought, but I also impulse bought a few popsicle recipe books (it feels weird to call them cookbooks) this week, which seem to generally make 10-pop batches, so I may need to buy a second mold next time I’m grocery shopping.
This recipe came from Smitten Kitchen, and I think is a riff off of recipes from the two books I decided I needed.
To start, combine the strawberries and sugar in a large bowl and let sit for 15 minutes.
In a small saucepan, combine the strawberry sugar mixture and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes. Transfer back to the original bowl and let come to room temperature.
Add the mixture to a blender. Add the lime juice and black pepper. Pulse a few times until mostly smooth, but still with a few chunks. Divide between 5 popsicle molds.
Freeze for at least six hours. Did I buy this popsicle mold because it’s yellow? A little bit. But so far it was worth the $10.
When ready to eat, you can take them out one at a time, run under warm water briefly, and pop off the plastic mold.
Popsicles, however, remain very difficult to photograph. I’ll try to get better as I bring you along on this popsicle summer adventure.
Enjoy!
Strawberry Lime Black Pepper Popsicles
Ingredients:
- 2 cups (10 ounces) strawberries, cored and quartered
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- Juice of one lime
- 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
- pinch salt
Directions:
- In a large bowl, mix together strawberries and sugar. Let sit for 15 minutes.
- In a saucepan, combine strawberry mixture and water. Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat. Allow to cool to room temperature.
- Combine strawberry mixture, lime juice, pepper and salt in a blender. Pulse a few times until mostly smooth.
- Divide mixture between 5 popsicle molds. Freeze for at least 6 hours.
