Homemade Frozen Popsicles
When a dessert is described as “dairy free, gluten free, and with no refined, white sugar” does anyone else assume it’s not going to be any good at all? My golden rule is to never waste treats on things that aren’t really fabulous—but something like local, hand-churned ice cream? Yes, girl. This recipe for homemade frozen popsicles is one of my best.
So I won’t label this dessert as “dairy-free, gluten-free, and no refined sugar” (even though those things are all true) because these creamy mint coffee popsicles certainly don’t taste like it. And with just a couple blender whirls, this recipe couldn’t be simpler.
Before I tested this recipe, I realized I didn’t have popsicle molds, or even popsicle sticks. And of course, the grocery store didn’t have them either. But, some rose-gold colored plastic silverware caught my eye. And guess what? If you snap off the fork, spoon, or knife part, you have a perfect little popsicle handle (that, may I interject, is cuter than a popsicle stick).
And instead of popsicle molds, I used square-shaped silicon ice cube trays. You could also try mini solo cups or Dixie cups (and peel away the paper once they’re frozen). Make a batch now and keep ‘em in your freezer — you’ll be all set when your sweet tooth strikes!
YIELDS: 6 HOMEMADE FROZEN POPSICLES
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup raw unsalted, unroasted cashews
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee
- 6 large dates, pitted
- ½ tablespon vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste)
- 2-4 drops high quality peppermint extract
- Optional: cacao nibs
STEPS:
- In a blender, combine cashews with 1-1/2 cups filtered water and blend on high for two minutes. (WHY? #1)
- Add remaining ingredients (except cacao nibs) to the blender and blend for 15-20 seconds, or until evenly mixed.
- Pour mixture into the popsicle molds, or ice trays and freeze for an hour.
- Gently add popsicle sticks (or your broken silverware!) and a sprinkle of cacao nibs, then freeze until solid — about 4 hours.
PSST! A FEW RECIPE NOTES:
WHY? #1: Blend the cashews and water to make cashew milk. If your blender isn’t very powerful (for this recipe, I used a Vitamix) you may need to soak your cashews in water for about six hours to soften them. The milk should be silky and smooth. Alternatively, you can make homemade coconut milk by emptying a can of full-fat coconut milk into a blender and blending for thirty seconds.
Note: Instead of sprinkling cacao nibs on at the end, try putting cacao nibs in the bottom of your ice cube tray or popsicle molds, then pour the popsicle mixture over top. Or do both!
Recipe by guest contributor Lindsay Kinder, of Food La La. Photography by Erica Garlieb.
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Elise Armitage is an entrepreneur and founder of What The Fab, a travel + lifestyle blog based in California. At the beginning of 2019, Elise left her corporate job at Google to chase her dreams: being an entrepreneur and helping women find fabulous in the everyday. Since then, she’s launched her SEO course Six-Figure SEO, where she teaches bloggers how to create a passive revenue stream from their website using SEO. Featured in publications like Forbes, Elle, HerMoney, and Real Simple, Elise is a firm believer that you can be of both substance and style.
Anns
Saturday 20th of July 2019
This recipe sounds amazing! How did you keep the popsicle sticks straight up on your ice tray?
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Friday 26th of July 2019
Good question! You can freeze the popsicles for an hour before you put in the stick, so it's frozen enough that it will stand up on its own! We actually used the ends of plastic silverware instead of popsicle sticks and it worked really well!