Homemade orange creamsicles

Remember these popsicles?  They always  remind me of summertime as a kid.  We didn’t go anywhere, or do anything fancy.  We just played outside all day.  We always got to get ice cream from the ice cream truck, though (I learned to ride my bike without training wheels chasing after the ice cream truck one summer. Telling).  And creamsicles were my usual choice.

  So creamsicles had to be on the list for my popsicle series.  I don’t know who originally thought frozen milk and orange juice would taste good together, but I offered up a little gratitude to them this morning as I blended these up.  Then I left the house and completely forgot about putting the popsicle sticks in.  Hours later, I got home and they were frozen solid with no way to eat them or pull them out.

  But this ended up being a happy accident.  Usually when you make popsicles at home, especially if you’re mixing 2 liquids together (like milk and o.j.), you can end up with some separation.  In the time it takes to freeze, the popsicles layer themselves.  This is because there are no chemical emulsifiers added, like store bought popsicles.  Which to me is a good thing.  But the nagging perfectionist in me was always bothered by the striation.

  So to fix the stick-less dilemma,  I left the popsicle mold on the counter to defrost a little, popped those popsicles out, blended them up again and put them back in the mold.  This time I remembered the sticks.  And this time when the popsicles froze again (in less than an hour), no stripes on my popsicles!  It’s an extra step, and maybe a small pain the the tush, but I love it.  And they taste just about perfect.  (If you miss the bright orange color, you could add a little food coloring).

orange creamsicles

makes approximately 12 popsicles

ingredients:

• 1 & 1/2 c. orange juice (no pulp)
• 1 c. whole milk
• 1/2. c. heavy cream
• 2 tbl. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. orange extract

  Put all ingredients into a blend and puree.  Pour into popsicle molds.  Freeze for 1 hour and then add sticks.  Freeze at least 4 hours or until fully set.  Run bottom of popsicle mold briefly under hot water to release popsicles.  OR, try putting the blender pitcher into the freezer for a few hours.  Re-blend when almost frozen, then pour into the molds.  Don’t forget to add sticks.  I think that should work just as well as my twice mold trick.  If you try it, let me know!