Peach Popsicles, 4 ways

Left to right:

peach banana juice pop,

peach raspberry creamsicle,

peach plum icecicle.

Below,

peach blueberry

vodka icecicle.

What better way to celebrate summer than with homemade popsicles?!? In my extensive experience with frozen treats, popsicles come in 3 types of base ingredients; water, juice, or a creamy mixture of some kind. Here, the mighty peach is celebrated in all 3 types, along with a special fourth option - the addition of alcohol. See that little stripped popsicle, the one whose end broke off because I was too impatient to let it freeze properly? He's laced with blueberry vodka. Thought that would get your attention...

The best thing about making these yourself is that you can control the sugar, and subsequently unnecessary calories. Be wary of store-bought and even do-it-yourself recipes that call for juice concentrate, but little liquid to dilute it with. Talk about sugar overload, no wonder they taste great. The popsicle recipes here use simple syrup, and you can add as much or as little as you like. Try using the recommended amount - it may not seem like much, but the flavour of the fruit will take centre stage once frozen. And please, be more patient than little me, let them freeze for several hours before you remove them!

Each recipe makes 6-8 popsicles, depending of size of moulds.

Simple syrup - used in all 4 recipes

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

Bring water and sugar to boil for 5 minutes, or until it coats the back of a spoon like maple syrup. Let cool before using, refrigerate whatever is left.

Instructions for each of the recipes below are the same. Chop the fruit into small pieces, I don't bother peeling the peaches/plums. Frozen or canned fruit would probably do just fine if you don't have fresh. Puree the ingredients in the recipe for 1 minute, either all ingredients together or puree each fruit in the recipe seperately. Add more water/juice as necessary, but just enough to get the ingredients in the blender whirling. Pour carefully into the moulds, and freeze for several hours. If you decide to puree the fruits seperately, you can then swirl or layer them in the mould to create interesting patterns as in the photo above. If layering, allow each layer to freeze up a bit before adding the next one. If you have any trouble removing them from the mould, run under warm water to melt the edges of the popsicle a little. The peach blueberry vodka icecicle doesn't freeze up as hard due to the alcohol, so I recommend chosing a mould without an intricate design - it was really hard to remove them without breaking each one!

Peach Plum Icecicles (water-based)

4 peaches + 2 Tbsp simple syrup

2 plums  + 1 Tbsp simple syrup
add a little water to blend as needed

Peach Banana Juice Pops (juice-based)

4 peaches + 2 Tbsp simple syrup

1 banana + 1/4 cup orange juice

add a litte water to blend as needed

Peach Raspberry Creamsicles (yogurt-based)

3 peaches + 1.5 Tbsp simple syrup + 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt

1 cup raspberries + 1 Tbsp simple syrup

add a little water as needed

Peach Blueberry Vodka Icecicles (water based)

3 peaches + 1.5 Tbsp simple syrup

1 cup blueberries + 3 ounces of bluebery vodka, add a little water as needed

For complete recipe
(divide by number of popsicles)

Peach Plum: 411 cals, 2g fat, 104g carbs, 0mg sodium, 11g fiber, 6g protein.

Peach Banana: 446 cals, 2g fat, 113g carbs, 4mg sodium, 12g fiber, 7g protein. 

Peach Raspberry: 415 cals, 3g fat, 91g carbs, 58mg sodium, 15g fiber, 10g protein. 

Peach Blueberry: 584 cals, 2g fat, 100g carbs, 2mg sodium, 10g fiber, 5g protein.