Bomb Pops

Remember bomb pops?

I definitely have some fond memories of wondering around Jones beach, NY with a red and blue mouth and my palms covered in runny sugar.

But those days are over—I tried to revisit the bomb pop of my youth a few years ago and was repulsed.

So in the spirit of July 4th (because I am such a die-hard patriot), I came up with this healthier version of that red, white and blue popsicle…

(I know, I know, it looks pink.)

I made these using plastic popsicle forms the first time around, but it just didn’t feel authentic. I like the size and shape that you can get from using small Dixie cups…plus I prefer the classic wooden popsicle stick better. Another perk of doing it this way is that there’s no limit to how many you make (better for parties and kids).

So instead of red #4 I used cranberry/raspberry juice. But use whichever flavor of red colored juice you prefer. And you only need to fill the Dixie cups about 1/3 of the way. Then you pop them in the freezer for about 30 minutes or until they are partially frozen (like half way frozen). Firm crystals across the top and firm but not frozen solid.

Why do you have to partially freeze them first? Because otherwise the frozen yogurt will mix with the juice and be all gross, silly. This way we get nice, clean layers.

While the juice filled cups are in the freezer, you blend together some vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt with some milk or soymilk. Do about 1 part milk/soymilk to 3 parts ice cream/frozen yogurt. It’s necessary to add the milk or soymilk so the ice cream freezes solid (otherwise it’ll stay all mushy).

Blend and add milk till it’s nice and runny like a milkshake. Then you pour 2-3 tablespoons of the milkshake onto the partially frozen juice (which should be frozen enough to support the weight of the ice cream without collapsing). And then you add a few blueberries and make sure they become totally submerged in milkshake.

Inserting your wooden Popsicle stick is the last thing you do before popping them back into the freezer, it’s also the only tricky part. You want to insert the stick slowly and make sure you don’t go all the way to the bottom of the cup (or it’ll be too close to the top of the pop when you eat it later). It’s kind of a balancing act.

They’ll be frozen solid in about an hour. When you’re ready to eat them, just let them sit for a couple minutes then give them a little twist and squeeze the cup—they’ll pop right out!

So delicious! Creamy and not too sweet. The tart cran/raspberry juice was the perfect tartness. And the blueberries are great frozen. I kept the extras covered with aluminum foil in the freezer so they wouldn’t get freezer taste.