Simple Popsicles

I've been toying around with new popsicle flavors since I posted these Strawberry Balsalmic ones a while ago. There have been some hits, and some definite misses. I have  a few more ideas I'd like to try out, and if those work well I will certainly report back! Pictured above, we have honeydew green tea (blergh), pineapple (my favorite!), and watermelon (tasty, but it has texture issues). 

The best thing about the Strawberry Balsamic Popsicles is that they're almost entirely fruit. A touch of honey for sweetness, sure, and some extra flavors, but I had a feeling that fruit purees are where it's at when it comes to homemade popsicles. In some cases, I was right; in others, not entirely. But as a base for further experimentation, the purees gave me the texture that I was looking for - more creamy, less icy. 

The pineapple popsicles were my absolute favorite. They were flavorful, sweet, and had a great texture. And they couldn't be simpler.

Simple Pineapple Popsicles
This hardly qualifies as a recipe - it's so simple! Other types of fruit can be substituted - see below for what I've tried.
Yield: four 3 oz popsicles

INGREDIENTS
about 3 cups chopped fresh pineapple

DIRECTIONS
1. Blend pineapple in food processor or blender until smooth.
2. Pour into molds, add sticks, and freeze. Enjoy!

We also liked a honeydew version - sweetened with a bit of honey, to taste.  I tried making a honeydew-green tea popsicle, but it did NOT turn out well. I could try a few different tactics for adding the tea flavor, but the first batch were so bad that I was quite discouraged.

I enjoyed a watermelon puree version too - but as you can see, there was some separation in the freezing process.  It was quite delicious, but I'm thinking adding some strawberries to the mix would improve the texture.

These are pretty simple starting points, but they seem to prove my basic theory correct: I should use fruit purees, not juices, as the base for my popsicle recipes. And if it tastes good in the blender, it should taste good frozen!

Has it heated up where you live yet? We've been alternating thunderstorms and sweltering heat - summer weather is arriving! 

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