Blackberry Lime Popsicles

I considered alternative names for these popsicles such as Bloody Murder Pops, Don’t Touch Me Pops, Vampire Pops, Get That Out of My House Pops, and Half Naked in the Backyard Pops. I chose the straightforward Blackberry Lime Popsicles…boring, perhaps. But, since sugar and water are the only other ingredients in this creation, it gives you some indication of how wonderful they are.

I’ve been daydreaming about lime related popsicles ever since I first ate lunch at Chicken Scratch in Dallas, a new fried chicken joint opened by Tim Byres, Christopher Jeffers and Chris Zielke (same team as SMOKE). It is a dream spot for anyone who likes chicken (here, chicken tenders are not low brow kid pacifiers…they are a legitimate grown up delicacy). But it is also highly kid friendly. Thank you, people. Thank you. But, the desserts are not fussy stuff…they are popsicles. And, they are awesome. When I go by myself, totally sans small people, I will still be getting a popsicle every time. My favorite, lime.

So, this has my mind on frozen treats and summer and the kids. And, frankly, I am willing the school year to end. If I could wish the calendar into summer I would. This one has knocked the stuffing out of me. All is well and all my problems are rather tidy, first world, whiny spoiled brat ones, but one eventually needs to cross the finish line in a marathon, I hear. Thus, popsicles.

Fresh blackberries. Lime juice. Lime Zest. Sugar. Water. Simple. Fresh. Cold. Messy. Wonderful.

Find your molds or your Dixie cups. Gather some sticks. If you pour water into the mold and then into a measuring cup you will know the capacity of the mold and therefore how many popsicles this mold will yield for you. This recipe makes about 2½ cups of juice. So you do the math. I got 8 skinny pops and 2 Dixie cups. I am usually a huge fan of the Dixie Cup pop, however, blackberry juice is so flipping messy that you really ought to use a mold that is slightly smaller in diameter so that it can go into your (kid’s) mouth or you end up looking like Carrie at the prom.

Preparation:
18 ounces fresh blackberries
½ cup sugar
1 cup water
¼ cup lime juice
2 to 3 teaspoons lime zest

Place the blackberries in a small saucepan with the water and the sugar. Bring to a simmer and then cook for 3 additional minutes until the berries are red and bursting and juicy. Remove the berries from the heat.

Meanwhile, zest and juice the limes. (Always remember to zest before you cut and juice the limes). If the zest is long and stringy, give it a few chops.

Pour the berries into a sieve or strainer which is situated over a large measuring cup or other container with a pouring lip. Slowly pour the juice through the strainer, occasionally stirring the pulp to let the juice pass through more freely. Once you have poured all of the juice and berries into the strainer, mash the berries and stir them in the strainer until you have gotten all the juice you can to drip through. This will give you approximately 2¼ cups of juice.

Stir in the lime juice and lime zest. Pour the juice into the popsicle molds, place the sticks into the juice  and place the molds in your freezer.  Freeze for at least 24 hours.

Notes:

If you are using wooden sticks (and not a pre-fabricated stick/topper apparatus) set a timer for 90 minutes and then put the sticks into the popsicles once they have frozen a bit. By doing this they will stay upright. If you are running out of the house, you can also wrap the molds with plastic wrap and pop the sticks through the plastic. Or, buy nicer molds where the stick is also like a lid and a drip catcher…and then you can just put them in before freezing. I personally like the wooden sticks and actually threw away the plastic stick toppers that came with my molds. There is just something about a wooden popsicle stick.

Don’t forget my other favorite pop on PIE…Orange Julius Popsicles.