Refreshingly tart and full of fresh berry flavor, these Very Berry Patriotic Popsicles will add a spirited touch to your next summer celebration.  

Shortly before Memorial Day, I saw a recipe on The View From Great Island for Red White and Blueberry Yogurt Popsicles.  If you haven't checked out TVFGI, I highly recommend adding it to your daily reading list.  Susan shares a wonderful assortment of natural, seasonal, creative fare -- and some of the most delicious and gorgeous homemade popsicle recipes you'll ever find.  As soon as I saw her recipe for Red White and Blueberry Yogurt Popsicles, I knew I had to try it for myself.  The combination of various summer berries and yogurt sounded perfectly refreshing, and the striped look would be perfect for Memorial Day and/or the Fourth of July.

The only problem?  I have plastic popsicle molds but I don't have any wooden popsicle sticks.  I didn't feel like ordering popsicle sticks online and waiting for them to arrive (I'm not a very patient person when it comes to making dessert).  Instead, I improvised and used cardboard straws as popsicle sticks.  It's a very simple process, and it's a fun way to use up those extra cardboard straws.  A single straw would be too flimsy to support the weight of the popsicle.  However, two cardboard straws buddied up together works just fine.  Here's how to do it: Use clothes pins to hold two straws together and prop them up in the bottom of the plastic popsicle molds, as pictured below.  Pour your fruit puree (or whatever you're making your popsicles out of) into the bottom of the popsicle mold.  Make certain that all the straws are perfectly upright.  Freeze for about 30-45 minutes, then unclip the clothes pins.  It's a good idea to take the clothes pins off at this point, so that they don't crush the paper straws.  The bottom layer of ingredients will have frozen enough to hold the straws upright without the clothes pins.  Once you are ready to unmold the popsicles, run the popsicles under warm water for about ten seconds.  Then grab the straws at the very end and pull gently.  You may bend the ends of the straws when removing the popsicles, but it's fine.  Using scissors, trim the straws approximately 1"  (to remove the crushed ends) and enjoy!  If not eating immediately, popsicles can be wrapped in wax paper and stored in the freezer for up to 1 day.

My recipe is very closely inspired by the one on The View From Great Island.  I added a little ice cream in addition to Greek yogurt (as originally specified) to make these popsicles extra creamy.  My blueberries and raspberries were particularly tart, so I sweetened the fruit purees with a touch of maple syrup.  The result was an ice pop that was simultaneously sweet and tangy, bursting with fresh berry flavor.  And of course, the red, white, and blue stripes make them perfect for upcoming Fourth of July celebrations!

(click here for printable recipe)

Very Berry Patriotic Popsicles

By The Land of Milk 'n' Cookies. Inspired by The View From Great Island
Refreshingly tart and full of fresh berry flavor, these Very Berry Patriotic Popsicles will add a spirited touch to your next summer celebration.  

Prep time: 15 minutes

Total time: 4 hours

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup  Greek yogurt
• 2/3 cup  vanilla ice cream, softened
• 1 cup  blueberries
• 2/3 cup  diced strawberries
• 2/3 cup  diced raspberries
• 2 tablespoons  maple syrup, divided

Instructions

1. Prepare popsicle molds: Clip two cardboard straws together using a clothes pin to form a popsicle "stick."  Place in the bottom of each popsicle mold and use clothes pin to help prop the straws upright.  Set aside.  
2. In a mini food processor, pulse together Greek yogurt, ice cream, and 2 teaspoons maple syrup until combined. Pour into glass measuring cup and refrigerate until ready to use.  If mixture is too thick to pour easily, a few teaspoons of water can be added.  
3. Clean bowl of food processor.  Pulse blueberries and 2 teaspoons maple syrup until as smooth as possible.  If desired, strain to remove skin.  Pour blueberry puree into glass measuring cup.  Carefully pour puree into the prepared popsicle molds, and wipe away any drips.  Freeze for 30-45 minutes, or until blueberry layer is frozen.   
4. Meanwhile, clean bowl of food processor.  Pulse strawberries, raspberries, and remaining maple syrup until as smooth as possible.  If desire, strain to to remove seeds.  Pour into glass measuring cup and refrigerate until ready to use. If mixture is too thick to pour easily, a few teaspoons of water can be added. 
5. Remove popsicles from freezer.  Unclip clothes pins.  Pour a thin layer of ice cream/yogurt on top of the blueberry layer.  Return to freezer for about 30 minutes, or until white layer is frozen (you can check after 20 minutes). 
6. Remove popsicles from freezer.  Pour a thin layer of raspberry/strawberry puree on top of the white layer.  Return to freezer for about 30 minutes, or until red layer is frozen (you can check after 20 minutes).  Repeat until all ice cream and fruit puree have been used.  
7. After final layer has completely frozen, popsicles are ready to be removed from their molds.  Run each popsicle under warm water for approximately 10 seconds.  Grasp straws at the very end (farthest away from the popsicle itself), and pull gently.  You may bend the straws slightly where your fingers hold the straws, but it's fine.  Trim the straws approximately 1" to remove the bent ends, and enjoy!  If not eating immediately, popsicles can be wrapped in wax paper and eaten later the same day.  

Yield: 6 popsicles

  

(click here for printable recipe)

Thanks for reading, folks!  I've been tied up with work and other "real life" stuff recently, but I'm hoping to get back to a more regular schedule soon.  Thanks for sticking with me despite the sporadic posting!

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However, I've also been curious about natural food coloring options.  A few months ago, I bought a set of India Tree Natural Decorating Colors from Amazon.  For about $16, I received a three-bottle set of vegetable-based food coloring.  Each bottle was .75 ounces, and the colors were advertised as red, yellow, and blue.  Admittedly, natural dye is much more expensive than standard food coloring.  On a per-ounce basis, natural dye costs at least three times as much as Wilton or Americolor.  The natural dye also has a shelf life of just a few months; Wilton and Americolor typically last much longer.  I stored my natural food coloring in the refrigerator to extend the shelf life as much as possible.

After a few rounds of experimentation, I thought it might be helpful to share my experience using the India Tree natural colorants.  Please know that this post is not sponsored by India Tree, and I am not affiliated with India Tree in any way.  Also, please note that this post is not intended to evaluate the health benefits of using natural food dyes versus standard food dyes.  I do not have a background in medicine or food science, so I don't consider myself qualified to write about food dye from a science-y perspective.  Nonetheless, I've tinted my fair share of royal icing and buttercream, so I can certainly write about my experience vis-à-vis decorating. How do natural dyes compare to conventional food dyes, such as those produced by Wilton, Americolor, or McCormick?  What are the pros and cons from a decorating standpoint?  What sort of colors can you produce using natural food dyes?

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Have Your Cake and Eat it, Too

...aka "Real Life According to the World's Oldest iPhone."

Hey, friends!  Hope you all enjoyed the weekend.  I don't typically write much about "real life" on this blog, but occasionally I like to share snippets.  I enjoy getting to know the people behind my favorite food blogs, and I figured others might feel the same.  Please pardon the brief departure from the regularly scheduled programming.  I'll be back with some recipes later this week.

I had one of those truly fantastic weekends that was equal parts restorative, exciting, and productive.  A really worthwhile weekend, you know?  The kind of weekend where I did all the boring, responsible things on my to-do list (taxes, grocery shopping), but also got to do everything I wanted.  Here were a few highlights:

1. I chopped off a bunch of my hair. 

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