A text came in from my mother the other week with a picture of my niece. She was holding her first popsicle, which, not surprisingly, she was enjoying tremendously. It brought back such sweet childhood memories. As a kid, I could eat those one after the next on a blistery summer day and never get tired of them. Ones with pieces of fruit in them were pure perfection. I'd plop down in front of the television and lick and chomp and slurp before it melted all over the floor.
One of the many fun treats that came out of my cookbook shoot from a few weeks ago was a popsicle maker. I'd been holding back on purchasing one, thinking that it was kind of lame and gimmicky. That was until, of course, I actually tried making my own... on a 90 + degree day. And how magnificent that first bite was. Eric and I immediately looked at each other and blurted out with big silly grins on our faces: boozy popsicles. He suggested making a batch with sangria, which I thought was a fabulous idea. Instead of sweetening it with regular simple syrup, though, I decided to infuse them with some beautiful lavender my friend sent me from their trip to Hawaii.
There were a few points during the heat wave we experienced last week when these came in handy. At five o'clock (or - ahem - maybe a little earlier than that), we'd get home and rush to the freezer. Needless to say, I expect a few more batches will be prepared over the next month and a half.
Enjoy and stay cool everyone!
Peach and Lavender Sangria Popsicles
Servings
10-12 ice pops, depending on the size of the mold
Tools
Ice pop molds
Food processor
Whisk
Mixing Bowl
Pitcher
Ingredients
1 cup water
3 tablespoons dry lavender
1 cup sugar
2 ripe peaches
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 bottle of dry white wine
Instructions
1. Make the simple syrup by bringing the water and lavender to a boil in a pot. Whisk in the sugar until fully dissolved. Reduce the heat to a simmer and let cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let steep for another 30 minutes. Once it has cooled, strain the syrup.
2. While the syrup is cooling, peel one ripe peach and cut it into large pieces. Place the peach into the bowl of a food processor along with the orange juice. Puree until blended smooth.
3. Transfer the peach mixture to a pitcher. Add the white wine and 1/2 cup lavender simple syrup. Stir to combine.
4. Thinly slice the remaining, unpeeled peach. Place three peach slices inside the cup of each popsicle mold. Fill each mold with the sangria and put in the freezer until frozen.
