I love popsicles in the summer, but I wholeheartedly prefer homemade. So flavourful, especially when you take advantage of the ripe local bounty – strawberries, raspberries, cucumber and rhubarb are in season here right now, and I can’t WAIT for the peaches and cherries to appear.
Strawberry and rhubarb would be amazing, of course. But I’d really like to do a cucumber pop, maybe in combination with melon. Or even a green smoothie pop!
I had a massive watermelon to use up (again, see here), but you can substitute virtually ANY fruit, or a combination. Just blend, and add simple syrup to taste.
Keep in mind that once frozen, the sweetness will be subdued – if making these as a dessert treat, you might want to add a touch more syrup than you think when tasting it before freezing.
My little guy looooooves to rub these against his sore gums when teething. It makes quite an epic mess unless he’s confined to his high chair, but sticky, melted popsicle on the floor/furniture/dog is part of the fun of summer, right? 🙂
I added chocolate chip “watermelon seeds” to some of the popsicles – I think kids (older than mine) would find that really fun.
Watermelon Popsicle Ingredients
- 2 cups watermelon chunks
- 2 tbsp simple syrup
- handful of chocolate chips, optional
Simple Syrup
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup sugar
How To Make Watermelon Popsicles
- To make the simple syrup, combine water and sugar in a small saucepan and heat until sugar dissolves. Transfer syrup to a container and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes.
- Combine watermelon chunks and 2 tbsp simple syrup in blender container; process on high speed until well blended, about 30 seconds. Taste and add more syrup if desired.
- Pour watermelon puree into popsicle molds, insert sticks and freeze until solid – about 4 hours. (To make chocolate “seeds”, only fill molds half-way and freeze; once solid, drop in a few chocolate chips and fill with remaining watermelon mixture; freeze again). Run molds under hot tap water to loosen popsicles before serving.
- Leftover syrup may be stored in a sealed container for 1 month.
