Strawberry Creamsicles

Strawberries and cream, what's not to love about this combination?  When I was making Orange Creamsicles the other day I decided I'd make a few strawberry cream bars as well.  My daughter loves strawberries, and she loves ice cream, so I thought since it's so hot out lately I'd give her the best of both worlds.  The verdict? She loved this creamsicle of course--who wouldn't?  If you are doing this, my suggestion is to use very ripe, and very sweet berries, otherwise you'll have to add sugar in some form to make these sweet.

Pin It!

Prep time: 5 minutes

Makes 2-3 strawberry creamsicles

Ingredients:

1 cup of pureed organic strawberries

1 cup of heavy cream or coconut cream

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

2 tablespoons of maple syrup

Directions: Add the cream, vanilla extract and maple syrup to a cup, mix well and set aside.  If using classic pop molds, place all ingredients in a blender and blend until well combined.  Divide mixture evenly among molds and freeze for 6-8 hours or until frozen solid.

If you are using the Zoku Quick pop maker, Pour the strawberry juice into the molds and allow to set for 2-3 minutes.  At the 2 minute mark siphon out the remaining unfrozen juice with a straw or a unused infant aspirator--I purchased one just for this.  Zoku sells a tool kit for $20 which includes a siphon tool, but the aspirator is $3 and does the job equally as well.  After you have removed all of the juice, pour cream into the molds, and allow to set for another 4-5 minutes, then follow the directions for removing the pops.  If you aren't going to eat the pops right away, you can store them in sandwhich size zip lock bags and place them in the freezer until you're ready to eat them.  These never last longer than a few hours in our house, so I can't say how long you could store them that way.  If you like these, you'll probably love my Orange creamsicle recipe too.

Fudgesicles

Coconut Cream Fudgesicles

One of my favorite treats as a kid was a fudge pop. Back then they were sold as the low-fat, low-calorie version of ice cream.   Not that any of that mattered to me , I was 7!  I just really enjoyed the creamy chocolate treat!  Back then fudgesicles contained 3 or 4 key ingredients, Milk, chocolate, and cream.  That is a far cry from the ingredient list we see today on a fudgepop box.  When formulating this recipe, I wanted to stick to what made fudgesicles great when I was little, a few ingredients and not much else.  I switched out the milk for coconut milk, and added some coconut cream for richness, the result----Heaven--creamy fudge heaven!  I didn't add any extra sugar to this, for my palate it didn't need it.  My daughter and husband both loved these without any added sugar as well.  However, if you like fudgesicles on the sweeter side, add 2 tablespoons of maple syrup to the mix before freezing.  Although I used coconut milk and cream as a base for these, you can use milk and cream, or just use milk.   You can also use my recipe for Chocolate Tofu Pudding just freeze and enjoy!

Pin It!

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 5 minutes

Freeze time: 4-6 hours

Makes 4-6 pops

Ingredients:

2 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chopped

1 tablespoons of unsweetened  cocoa powder

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 cup of coconut milk

3/4 cup of coconut cream

Special equipment:

Popsicle molds

Directions: Add the milk, cream and cocoa powder to a sauce pan over medium heat, and whisk until well combined and mixture is just below a simmer--DO NOT BOIL!!! Remove from heat.  Add in chopped chocolate, and whisk until all the chocolate is melted, stir in the vanilla extract.  

Divide the mixture evenly among the popsicle molds,

 Freeze for 4-6 hours or until solidly frozen. Follow your popsicle molds instructions for removing pops from molds and enjoy!

Flourless Chocolate Meringue Cookies

Starbucks Inspired Flourless Chocolate Meringue Cookies

This heat has definitely made me a Starbucks fan. Everyday I find myself going there to buy a shaken green iced tea, and since I'm there, I pick up  a treat--their flourless, gluten free, chocolate cookie. It's probably the healthiest treat option in their refrigerated showcase, and my daughter and I love it. However, this afternoon tea and cookie thing is getting expensive, at $5 a day--$7 when we indulge at Disney--it's getting a bit out of control. I love treating myself, but I hate mindless spending too. I'd much rather spend that $200/month on a new kitchen gadget--like a Searzall, or a chamber vacuum sealer to go along with the new immersion circulator that my husband got me for Mother's Day.  So what's a girl to do? Buy a box of organic green mint tea, and make the meringue cookies myself, of course!  The best thing about these cookies is that besides the cream of tartar, I already had all of the ingredients.  These cookies are chewy, gooey and light all at the same time--just like the Starbucks cookies, but unlike the Starbucks version, these contain no added oil, so they are super low-fat, low-calorie and gluten free! Score!!!

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time : 10-15 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:
2 egg whites
5 ounces of bitter sweet dark chocolate (60%)
1/8 teaspoon of cream of tartar
3/4 of powdered sugar (I used maple sugar)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 cup of chocolate chips

Directions:  Pre-heat the oven to 375. Melt the 5 ounces of chocolate in a double boiler and set aside. 

Add the two egg whites to a bowl and beat on low until bubbles form, add the cream of tartar and beat on high, add in the sugar and beat until peaks are stiff and fluffy---you can turn the bowl upside down with out the mixture running. 

Pour in the melted chocolate and fold it into the egg white fluff--be gentle-- fold until the white streaks disappear.

Fold in the chocolate chips, then spoon onto a parchment lined cookie sheet.  

Bake for 10-12 minutes, the cookies should be soft and pliable. 

Let them cool for 10 minutes, then move them to a cookie rack to continue cooling 5-7 minutes. Serve and enjoy.