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Hi everyone- this is Dani here and I am excited to bring you my first 365 days of bliss post! I don’t know about you but I have been loving the new blog content! Everyday is something fun and super sweet that gives me a little glimpse into the lives of our talented Sweet Shoppe staff! So when I was thinking of what I was going to do for my post I thought it would be perfect to share with you our favorite summertime treat- popsicles! Now, I didn’t used to think popsicles where all that exciting… but one day I was looking on Pinterest (Oh yes I am addicted too.. there should really be a 12-step program! LOL!) for some fun activities to do with the girls this Summer and stumbled upon popsicles. As I did some searching around- let me tell you I was inspired! The sky is the limit with the fun stuff you can do! Not only that but they look so pretty too! 🙂 So I went searching for some good popsicle molds and we set to work creating our first popsicles- which were a smashing sucess! 🙂 We made Bannana Split popsicles with layers of bananna pudding, fresh banannas, chocolate pudding, chocolate fudge, vanilla pudding, and cherries. (PHEW!) They were delicious and such a fun and different treat! Lexi loved making them with me and they were something that could be quickly put together durring Sophie’s naptime.. which is a MUST when you have an active one-year old underfoot!

Since then we have been popsicle making machines! Lexi and I love to brainstorm ideas for crazy popsicles and sharing them with her friends and her daddy. I thought I would share with you some of our favorites, as well as some great links for inspiration so you can “get your popsicle on” too! 😉

I apologize- I really don’t have exact recipes, but that is something I love about this- its not exact science- its pretty foolproof!

Cookies and Cream Popsicles (Lexi’s Favorite)

1 Package Cookies and Cream Pudding Mix (yep they have that! If you can’t find it just use vanilla with a bunch of crushed up oreos-)
4-5 Oreos

Make pudding according to package directions. Place Oreos in a plastic baggie and smash. (This was Lexi’s favorite part). Pour the pudding into the popsicle molds and alternate with a small layer of crushed Oreos
(about a teaspoon full- if you add too much they won’t hold together.) Tap the mold on the counter to remove any air bubbles between layers.
Freeze for 4-6 hours. To remove- run the mold under hot water.
Makes about 6-8 popsicles depending on size.

Key Lime Pie Popsicles

1 Large Container Vanilla Yogurt (I used Greek yogurt, Lowfat Yogurt will freeze harder because of arificial sugars)
1/2c – 3/4c Lime Juice (depending on how tart you like it!)
Graham Cracker Crumbs
Green Food Coloring

Pour Half the vanilla yogurt into a separate bowl. Add lime juice to taste. I added a couple drops of food coloring as well (it has to look pretty!) Place a spoonful of vanilla yogurt in the mold .
Add a spoonful of graham cracker crumbs and tap the mold to settle it. Add a spoonful of the yogurt with lime and continue until the mold is full. Freeze for 4-6 hours.

Peanut Butter a Jelly Popsicles (These were a HUGE hit!)

1 Package Vanilla Pudding
1/2 c Creamy Peanutbutter
1/2 Bananna
Fresh of Frozen Strawberries
Sugar
Graham Cracker Crumbs

Make pudding according to directions. Add Peanutbutter and smashed bananna and mix well. In a food processor or blender puree strawberries & sugar (depending on taste- 1 used about 2 tbs). Layer the peanutbutter mixture, graham cracker crumbs and strawberries until your molds are filled, tapping the mold each time to get rid of air bubbles and settle the layers. Freeze 4-6 hours.

Some tips we have learned:

Yogurt, Pudding, fresh and frozen fruit all work great. I stay aware from sugar free or light varieties- artificial sugars freeze alot harder and in larger crystals compared to real sugar. Juice freezes really hard so I try to use fruit purees instead.

To remove popsicles, run them under warm water for several seconds. If they are still being stubborn try letting them sit at room temperature for 5-10 mins and they should pop right out.

You don’t have to have molds to make popsicles- paper cups, ice cube trays, muffin tins etc all work great. We fell in love with these molds we found on Amazon.

We also bought these and they are so fun! The perfect size for little ones who don’t need gigantic popsicles 🙂

Here is my Pinterest board with all kinds of popsicle ideas and recipes I have found around the internet!

Thats about it from me! I hope you take the chance to make some popsicles with your family this summer- maybe it will make it just a little bit sweeter! 🙂