Happy 4th of July! These are by far my favorite pops from our “Popsicle Week” adventures. How can you possibly not love anything that looks like a rocket ship?! And they’re green to boot, although I’m quite sure that real aliens probably don’t taste like pistachios. Using these Rocket Pop molds really made me wish that someone sold a popsicle tray Tardis. I think the Doctor would approve of Blueberry Tardis Pops, don’t you?

Pistachio Pudding Pops
Adapted from Krystina Castella’s new book: Pops! Icy Treats for Everyone published by Quirk Books.
Variations of additional Pudding Pops can be found at IcyPops.com

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups milk (Note: Do yourself a favor and use whole milk)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups shelled pistachios
Green food coloring

In a food processor or blender, grind 3/4 cup of the nuts to a paste. (Note: I couldn’t get my pistachios to form a paste without adding a teaspoon or two of water).

In a saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, and salt.

Add the milk and pistachios and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly for 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the heat as soon as the mixture thickens. (Note: This took approximately 12 minutes for me on a gas stove).

Stir in the butter until melted. Add the vanilla. Let cool in refrigerator for 10 minutes.

Add 3 drops green food coloring and mix with a spoon to combine.

Pour into the pop molds. Insert the sticks. Freeze for at least 8 hours.

Remove from the freezer. Let stand at room temperature for 5 minutes before removing the pops from the molds. (Note: Be gentle! I found that running the molds under warm water also helped to neatly loosen them).

My first batch of Root Beer Float pops bubbled up and created a sticky lava flow all over the frozen broccoli and chicken breasts in my freezer. So you’d think that the second time I made them I’d manage to not repeat the same mistake twice, right? Well, what do you suppose I did two hours into the freezing process after noticing that the popsicles weren’t filling out the molds as I’d hoped? Why panicked of course! Than made CK come into the kitchen to debate whether or not we should add more root beer.

I thought maybe the Virgil’s Root Beer that I used this time would behave differently when frozen than the Mug Root Beer I’d used in the first batch. Don’t laugh! It’s been eight years since I’ve had a science class. So CK and I decided we should add more root beer to the molds with a turkey baster. It was pretty ridiculous. Of course three hours later the pops overflowed again. Not to the extent that they did the first time but they still pushed the tops of the pop molds up.

The author of the cookbook, Krystina Castella, was kind enough to send me a note last night and offered the following additional advice surrounding the exploding soda pop phenomenon:

• Open the soda and put it in a pitcher in the fridge for a bit (5-20 minutes) depending on how much you want to flatten the liquid.

• Once the fizz is mostly out of the soda put it in the pop molds leaving 1/2 inch at top and it should turn out fine.

• If you like the airy texture that you get from using carbonated soda than let the liquid flatten for a shorter period of time

Even though these pops gave me a host of gooey trouble it’s hard to stay mad at something so frosty and delicious. The best part is the hidden bite of Maraschino Cherry!

Root Beer Float Pops
Adapted from Krystina Castella’s new book: Pops! Icy Treats for Everyone published by Quirk Books.
Makes six 8-ounce pops or eight 6-ounce pops

4 cups Root Beer
6 or 8 Maraschino Cherries, stemmed
2 1/2 cups Vanilla Ice Cream

Pour cold root beer into a pitcher and put it in the freezer for 10 minutes. (This will make it very cold reduce the ice cream melt factor).

Put a cherry in each mold. Pour some root beer into each mold until it is half full.

Gently lower a small scoop of ice cream into each pop mold so it is about three quarters full.

Slowly add more root beer until the molds are full. Scoop off the foam with a spoon. Freeze for at least 6 hours.

Remove from the freezer; let stand at room temperature for 5 minutes before removing the pops from the molds.

As previously promised Popsicle week has at last arrived. Thankfully these pops are awesome because I think I gave myself temporary carpal tunnel syndrome after juicing eight limes by hand with a ridiculously flimsy plastic juicer. Obviously a sturdier tool is going right to the top of my shopping list. By the time I finished with my popsicle prep hard labor my hands were completely shriveled from the lime juice and looked as though I’d been soaking in a hot soapy bath for two hours.

The remainder of the recipe is dead simple though and since I only made one batch of pops with my new Shooting Star Pop Molds I had half a pitcher of mojito mix left over. A few extra splashes of rum, some ice cubes and immediate cocktail satisfaction is yours. This definitely makes the wait for these icy citrus dreams slightly more tolerable.

Loosen Up Your Fingers & Prepare for Battle	The Aftermath
Muddle	Time to Freeze

Mojito Pops
Adapted from Krystina Castella’s new book: Pops! Icy Treats for Everyone published by Quirk Books.
Makes 24 two-ounce ice cube-tray pops, six 8-ounce pops, or eight 6-ounce pops (Note: Or be like me and make six popsicles and three nice sized mojitos to share while you’re waiting for the pops to freeze).

1 1/2 cups fresh lime juice (Note: I used 8 limes)
2 1/2 cups Club Soda
1/3 cup fresh mint leaves
1 lemon, peeled and cut into wedges
3 limes, peeled and cut into wedges
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons light rum

Pour the lime juice, club soda, and 1 cup water into a pitcher and let sit for 5 minutes.

Add the mint, lemon and lime wedges, sugar, and rum to the pitcher. Mash all of the ingredients together with a muddler or a wooden spoon.

Pour into pop molds, being sure to distribute the fruits and mint evenly among the molds. Insert the sticks. Freeze for at least 12 hours. Remove from the freezer; let stand at room temperature for 5 minutes before removing the pops from the molds.

For more popsicle ideas and information please visit IcyPops.com.

Don’t forget! You have until Noon (EST) on Monday, July 7th to enter the contest to win your very own copy of Krystina Castella’s Pops! Icy Treats for Everyone. Simply follow this link and leave a comment. It couldn’t be easier.

Growing up popsicles were simple affairs.  Since my favorite color was and still is purple I would only eat grape popsicles.  This meant our freezer was usually well stocked with cherry, lime, and orange until I got hard up enough to eat the other flavors.  If I ever made homemade ice pops I did so covertly using Mountain Dew (I’m losing my mind a little just thinking about this) and an ice cube tray studded with toothpicks.  As I’ve mentioned before I was a kitchen sneak.  Occasionally I also attempted to recreate pudding pops in pastel Dixie cups but they never tasted as good as the ones Bill Cosby urged us to beg our moms for during Saturday morning cartoons.  Unfortunately this led me to really not care for traditional popsicles at all.

But then I discovered Krystina Castella’s new book: Pops! Icy Treats for Everyone (published by Quirk Books) and simply put I’m absolutely blown away by the fantastic liberties she has taken with what is generally considered by the vast majority of families as a frozen grape juice concoction topped off with a craft stick.  Please believe me when I say that you have never seen popsicles like this before.  These pops are multi-layered, full of complex flavors, and truly unique ingredient blends.

The table of contents includes sections on: Healthy Energy Pops, Fruit Juice Pops, Soda Fountain Pops, Cream and Pudding Pops, Coffee and Tea Pops, and Cocktail Pops.  The “Cocktail Pops” section in particular caught my eye since it includes a Mojito Pop and I’ve been on a huge mojito kick lately.  Other pops I can’t wait to test out include Sweet Martini Pops, Thai Iced Coffee Pops, and Sugar Pumpkin Pops.  I don’t know about you, but Summer just got about twenty times more exciting for me!  In the introduction to the cookbook Krystina mentions the term “kidults” and how popsicles fit right into this cupcake buying, toy loving, crafty “grown-up” lifestyle.  I couldn’t agree more.

Please stay tuned for “Popsicle Week” on ErinCooks.com and my recreation of a few of Krystina’s amazing treats.  You’ll have to bare with me.  I had to order popsicle molds from Amazon and I’m impatiently awaiting their arrival.  The Kitchn recently posted an excellent article on summer popsicle molds and I purchased several of these items.  If you are lucky enough to already own molds than please feel free to dive right in and check out the accompanying cookbook website appropriately called IcyPops.com for ideas and recipes.

In some ways the above treats are reminiscent of a lot of gifts I’ve given my mother over the years on Mother’s Day.  I was always the kid in Sunday School who couldn’t get their Dixie cups packed with Marigold seeds to grow and I’d end up bringing home my mom a cup of dirt for Mother’s Day.

Teacher’s everywhere seem to think that plants are the way to go at this time of year, so in second grade, my teacher Mrs. Eastman, helped us take care of mini Spider Plants.  This time I thought I was home free.  My plant wasn’t growing from a seed, you simply placed your transplanted piece in the dirt, watered it, and kept your growing journal neat and tidy.  Well over the course of the lesson plan my plant got sicker and sicker until it resembled what I can only describe as burnt, limp, french fries.  To make matters worse, some punk in my class thought it would be cute to tie my sad little plant to another kid’s plant.  The next time my classmate went to collect his pot they both went tumbling to the ground.  I probably wanted to cry, or actually did cry.  I certainly hope the brat who committed “plant-icide” got his name on the board.  In a perfect world he would have been kept in for recess too which as I’m sure you’re all aware is the ultimate in childhood punishments.

These marshmallow treats complete with ragged edges and a slightly indecipherable shape are my virtual gift to my Mom today.  I hope that she appreciates the fact that I’m not actually going to make her eat them, and that she enjoys the real gifts that are currently hurtling their way to her in a big brown UPS truck.  I cross my heart and promise that the box does not contain a dead plant!

Happy Mother’s Day Wummy!  Thanks for always cleaning up after those crazy messes I made in the kitchen and for not yelling at me too much when I’d get into the spice cupboard and make “potions” with the oregano, mustard, and bouillon cubes.

Fruity Butterfly Treats (Based on the Fabulous Original Rice Krispie Treats recipe located at RiceKrispies.com)

3 tablespoons margarine or butter
1 (10 oz.) package regular marshmallows
6 cups Fruity Cheerios

Melt margarine in large saucepan over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.  Add the Fruity Cheerios. Stir until coated.

Using a buttered spatula or waxed paper, press mixture onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Note: It wont fill the whole pan. I spread mine out to about half the width of the pan. Allow the gooey mess to cool completely.

Using a cookie cutter (Butterfly or otherwise) cut the mixture into shapes. Feed the leftover edges to a dog, your husband, or other boy/man in your life. Butterfly treats are for “Girl’s Only!”