Strawberry Vanilla Ice Cream Pops

Once spring hits and locally grown strawberries are available I just can’t wait to start eating them. Definitely my favorite fruit of the summer, with blackberries and peaches as a close 2nd and 3rd, I love to eat them and bake with them.

When I saw the recipe for these pops in the May issue of Gourmet, I knew as soon as I laid my eyes on it, that I would be making these. Ice cream and berries together?? That is a total no brainer. Talk about easy, these pops came together in a snap.

Strawberry Vanilla Frozen Pops
Printable recipe
1 lb strawberries hulled and halved
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 pints premium vanilla ice cream

Mash the strawberries in a large bowl with a potato masher or a fork. Transfer to a large nonstick skillet along with the sugar and lemon juice and boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and freeze, uncovered, until cold (about 10 minutes).

Transfer the ice cream to a microwave safe bowl and heat at 30 percent power in 10-second intervals, stirring until softened, about 50 seconds total.

Spread even in a 9x13 inch-baking dish and freeze while strawberry mixture chills. Dollop tablespoons of the strawberry mixture all over the ice cream then swirl it gently through the ice cream with a spoon.

Spoon into molds (or paper cups like I did) and add wooden Popsicle sticks. I used the wide craft sticks. I let the pops freeze for about 20 minutes before I put the sticks in. Freeze until firm, about an hour and a half, or up to 4 days covered.