Super into refreshing treats at this point in the year.
Found these popsicle forms at the United on South 14th and thought I’d try my own popsicle recipe.
I had to (“had to”) scour Pinterest for some worthy inspiration. My options included Honey Whiskey Lemonade, Strawberry Moscato, Water Melon Champagne, Strawberry Rose and Creamy Limoncello Coconut. There are WAY too many options.
Oh, wait… I just found another one: Prosecco and Elderflower.
So, if you can’t find/don’t have/don’t want to purchase popsicle molds you can stick popsicle sticks in disposable mini glasses like these and basically get the same thing.
The trick here is to know that you might have to set your freezer temperature a little lower than normal to get your pops to be solid. You could also just use these zip-lock push pop things that are a literal work of genius.
So, I couldn’t choose. There were so many recipes that tempted me, I decided to simply make a new one. This is completely my own.
I decided to base my recipe off of one of the cocktail recipes I learned from the framily at Public Haus that one time. Of the four options, I thought the French 75 seemed the easiest to translate to a popsicle. So! I knew that I needed Lemon, Sugar, Champagne (or Sparkling Wine) and Gin.
To make freezing easier I decided to up the lemon content and remove the need for simple syrup by moving to lemonade. I also wanted these to be a bit fancy. So, I figured, why not add a little fruit for color? I think the fruit bits also helped hold the pop together. I used lemon curls and blue berries.
INGREDIENTS
2 cups Lemonade (I’d recommend fresh squeezed)
1 cup of sparkling wine
3-4oz of gin to taste
Simple syrup to taste (amount will vary depending on the sweetness of your wine)
I would only recommend that you repeat this recipe with caution. I used very cheap very not fresh lemonade and skipped the simple syrup because I thought I had bought a very sweet sparkling wine. Pro tip. Taste the wine before you skip the sugar water.
I also think I was a little too liberal with the gin. Overall my pops are quite rich and bitter. I will also skip the lemon curl next time, as I think that also may have marinated some bitter into the pops as they froze. Still! Overall, it’s a refreshing treat but it’s not quite the sugary dessert you expect from looking at it.
And, good news, these freeze solid so at least I accomplished that.
Have you ever tried to make up your own recipe? Do you have any tips for a beginner?
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