Berry Lime Popsicles

Happy Fourth of July! I don’t know about y’all but summer is definitely in full swing here. It was 92 degrees at 10am this morning! Even though it doesn’t feel like summer, since we can’t do many of the summery things we would normally be doing, the heat certainly reminds us of the season. One of my favorite refreshing summer treats is a popsicle! There’s nothing better to cool you down without weighing you down. Tomorrow is the Fourth of July Just like for Easter (see Berry Pavlova with Chocolate Drizzle), I wanted to make something that still let me feel like I was celebrating, even though in reality we’re staying at home per usual. So for the first time ever, I’m finally making my own popsicles! Every summer I ask myself why I don’t do this and yet, it never seems to happen. But now I have finally acquired popsicle molds and the will!

(Adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup raspberries
• 1 cup hulled & quartered strawberries
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 large lime, juiced & zested
• 3 turns of fresh ground black pepper
• Pinch of salt

Instructions:

1. Place the berries in a large glass bowl. Sprinkle in the sugar and toss until coated. Allow to macerate for 15 minutes.
2. In a small saucepan, combine the berries with the water. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer for ~5 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and allow the mixture to completely cool.
4. Add the lime juice and zest, as well as the salt and pepper. Stir. Mix an immersion blender (or in a food processor) until you have a pretty cohesive liquid, but retain a few chunks of fruit. (Unless you don’t like chunks of fruit in your popsicle, in which case, blitz until completely combined.)
5. Pour into popsicle molds, leaving some space at the top. Place in the freezer until completely frozen, which will take several hours.
6. Dip in lukewarm water for a few seconds before trying to remove the popsicle from the mold.

Yields just less than 2 cups of liquid – for our molds this made 6 popsicles