Summer makes me grumpy. For some summer may be a good thing (if you live up North, perhaps) but here in the South summer is Not Fun. It’s buggy, muggy, and just plain hot.
But there is one huge positive for summer: frozen treats. Nothing quite cools you down like a good ice pop. We all grew up with various forms of Popsicle and ice pops. I remember spending summers at my grandparents playing in the itty bitty plastic pool and then having a cool treat afterwards.
I admit I was a little afraid of this recipe. It is technically titled “Spicy Pineapple” but it wasn’t spicy at all. The chiles add such a wonderful complexity to the sweetness of the pineapple, but they aren’t spicy. These would be a perfect treat at a BBQ.
I got this recipe from the book Paletas by Fany Gerson. The other recipe I’ve tried was a yogurt and berry pop. Great post-run treat. My next one will be the avocado pop. Yup, avocados in frozen form! The book is inexpensive at $11 and is full of beautiful photos and great instructions. I have these reusable molds that are pretty decent for the price. But what I love about the book is she has instructions for various forms of ice pop making. Apparently there are instant ice pop makers and she has instructions for those as well as the molds. You can just as easily use paper cups and a stick. Or a shot glass and a stick. How fun would that be?
These are quick and easy to make. The longest part, obviously, is waiting for them to freeze. But otherwise they only take a few minutes to make.
Disclaimer: I purchased this book on my own and was not paid to review. I just trusted the reviews on Amazon!
Spicy Pineapple Ice Pops (Paletas de Pina con Chile)
Adapted from Paletas by Fany Gerson
Yield: 8 to 10
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 15 minutes hands on; several hours for freezing
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 small serrano or jalapeno pepper, split lengthwise
- 1 ripe pineapple, peeled and cored
- 2 TB lime juice
- 1 to 2 tsp ground chiles (I used 1 tsp chile powder)
- 1/2 tsp salt
1. Combine the water and sugar in a small saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add the pepper, reduce to a simmer for five minutes. Let cool and strain. I did this step the day before and chilled overnight.
2. Coarsely chop the pineapple. Put the pineapple, syrup, lime juice, ground chile, and salt into a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth. Alternatively, finely dice 1 1/2 cups pineapple and set aside. Coarsely chop the rest. Toss the finely diced pinaple with the chiles and salt. Blend the remaining ingredients.
3. Pour mixture into molds. Freeze until firm, about 4 hours. If you are using the finely diced pineapple, freeze for about 30 minutes until slushy and then add the diced pineapple. I just made it easy and blended everything for a smooth ice pop. You’ll still have a few chunks.
What’s your favorite frozen treat?
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