On hot summer days, a cold popsicle is a refreshing treat.  These popsicles are easy to make with healthy ingredients like fresh fruit, yogurt, and maple syrup. And they are all delicious!

Several weeks ago, Deb Robinson, a reader of this blog, sent me 7 recipes for popsicles that she and her husband, Chuck, created. They are such fans of these cold treats that not only do they have popsicle molds for both the house and the RV, they also have given sets as thank-you gifts to many of their friends. I immediately ordered a package of 18 (3 sets of 6) popsicle molds from Amazon.  Now that I’ve made all of the Robinson’s recipes, I’m ready to share them with you. 

I asked my 7-year-old and 3-year-old assistants to pick the flavors of the first three batches. They choose mango and orange from Deb’s list and requested one with watermelon and strawberries. Deb said to have fun making your own recipes, so we did. Since I love cherries, I came up with a recipe for cherry popsicles too.

Deb’s set includes 4 popsicle molds that hold ⅓ cup (2.66 ounces) each. Since I bought 6-popsicle sets, I converted the recipes to make a little over 2 cups. To test all the recipes, I borrowed a set from my neighbor. Her molds held 4 ounces each. (You may want to measure how much liquid your molds hold. Even though the description on Amazon says the ones I ordered hold 4 ounces, they don’t.)

Here’s a summary of Deb’s tips for making popsicles:

• Use an immersion blender to puree ingredients in a glass 2-cup measuring cup. (Of course, for the first couple of batches I made, I used a countertop blender. See Mistake Number 2 — not reading the entire recipe — in 10 Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make in Your One-Butt Kitchen.) It worked, but it’s easier to use an immersion blender in a measuring cup. You can add ingredients according to the measurements on the side of the cup rather than messing up individual measuring cups for ¼, ⅓, ½, and 1 cup. Your guestimates may not be exact, but they’ll be close enough for these recipes. Thanks for the tip, Deb!
• A squeeze of a lemon wedge in the recipe will make them less icy. (Note: the Banana, Coconut and Vanilla Chocolate Chip popsicles don’t seem to need the lemon squeeze.)
• Fill molds to the “Fill To →” line, or a little less than ½ inch from the top of your mold if it doesn’t have a Fill To line.
• Freeze for 6 hours.
• To remove popsicles from their molds, run hot water over 1 popsicle mold at a time.  Gently pull the handle.  If the popsicle doesn’t come out easily, run it under hot water a little longer.

These recipes are written for an immersion blender, but you can use a countertop blender if you prefer.

The ingredients you use are entirely up to you. Deb used canned pineapple tidbits and sliced peaches, which would be especially handy when the fruit is not in season. Except for frozen cherries, I used fresh fruit for all of the popsicles. This is a good use for fruit that is overripe. The bananas I used would have been perfect for banana bread, and the peaches in my fruit bowl needed to be eaten or tossed.  For a taste test, I made batches with canned peaches and crushed pineapple, which were every bit as good as the ones made with fresh peaches and pineapple. 

Deb used plain yogurt in some of her recipes; I used vanilla yogurt for all of mine.  She used low-fat milk and yogurt; I used almond milk and whole milk yogurt. If you want to make up your own recipes, start with about 1 ⅓ to 1 ½ cups of fruit, 2 tbsp maple syrup if it needs sweetener, ⅓ to ½ cup yogurt, and a squeeze of lemon. Taste it and see if it needs anything else. 

Be creative! If you try something new, let us know in the comments.

Preparation time: 15 minutes (Add 5 minutes for each assistant under 10 years old. Of course, they double the fun factor.)

Total time: 6 hours 15 minutes 

One-butt kitchen needs: 

• Popsicle molds This recipe fills 6 molds that hold ⅓ cup each. The recommended set from Amazon contains 3 sets of 6 molds: U.S. Kitchen Supply 18-Piece Classic Reusable Jumbo Ice Pop Mold Set. You can have one set for the RV and two for home (or give them as gifts).  If your molds hold more than ⅓ cup, adjust the recipe accordingly.
• Immersion blender Immersion blenders can be ordered with or without additional attachments. This basic immersion blender can be used to make popsicles, soups, sauces, and smoothies: AmazonBasics 500 Watt Multi-Speed Immersion Hand Blender.  This blender has several attachments including a mixing wand, milk frother, 500ml food chopper, 600ml beaker, and egg whisk:  Immersion Hand Blender, Utalent 5-in-1 8-Speed Stick Blender.
• 2-cup glass measuring cup If you are planning to use an immersion blender, a 2-cup glass measuring cup is a must: Pyrex Prepware 2-Cup Glass Measuring Cup. If you have room in your RV, consider the 3-cup set: Pyrex Glass Measuring Cup 3-Piece Set. If you stack the glass cups, consider using placing paper towels or shelf liner between the cups to keep them from banging together while traveling.
• Countertop blender You can use a countertop blender if you prefer. This Oster blender has multiple speeds and settings:  Oster Blender | Pro 1200 .

Serves 6

Banana Chocolate Chip

• ⅓ cup milk or almond milk                 
• 2 tbsp (1 oz) maple syrup
• ⅓ cup vanilla or plain yogurt (If you use plain yogurt, add ¼ tsp vanilla)
• 2 ripe bananas, broken into 1-inch pieces
• ¼ cup mini chocolate chips, optional

Put the milk, maple syrup, yogurt, and bananas into a glass measuring cup and puree the contents with an immersion blender. Adding the bananas last makes it easier to add the milk, syrup, and yogurt according to the measurement marks on the glass cup.

Mix in the chocolate chips with a spoon after the rest of the mix has been pureed to a smooth, consistent texture. If the mixture measures less than 2 cups, stir in more yogurt.

Coconut

• 13.5 oz can unsweetened coconut milk
• 2 tbsp (1 oz) maple syrup 
• ½ cup (4 oz) vanilla or plain yogurt
• ¼ cup unsweetened coconut

Put all ingredients into a glass measuring cup and puree the contents with an immersion blender. If the mixture measures less than 2 cups, stir in more coconut.

Mango

• 2 tbsp (1 oz) maple syrup
• 1 tbsp lemon juice (several good squeezes from half of a lemon)
• ½ cup vanilla yogurt
• 2 fresh mangoes, cut into small pieces (I used champagne mangos from Costco) or a 15-ounce can of diced mangoes, drained

Put the maple syrup, lemon juice, yogurt, and mangoes into a glass measuring cup and puree the contents with an immersion blender. Adding the mangoes last makes it easier to add the maple syrup, lemon juice, and yogurt according to the measurement marks on the glass cup. If the mixture measures less than 2 cups, add more yogurt or fruit juice from the canned mangoes.

Pineapple

• 2 tbsp (1 oz) maple syrup
• 1 tbsp lemon juice (several good squeezes from half of a lemon)
• ½ cup vanilla yogurt
• 1 ⅓ pureed fresh pineapple (An 8-ounce container from the produce section will make about 1 ⅓ cups. Two 8-oz cans pineapple (tidbits or crushed) in 100% pineapple juice will make almost 2 cups.  Reward the cook and the assistants with the excess.)
• 2 tbsp unsweetened coconut, optional

Put the maple syrup, lemon juice, yogurt, pineapple, and coconut into a glass measuring cup and puree the contents with an immersion blender. Adding the pineapple last makes it easier to add the maple syrup, lemon juice, and yogurt according to the measurement marks on the glass cup. If the mixture measures less than 2 cups, add more yogurt or pineapple.

Optional: Deb recommended adding some small chunks of pineapple to the mix. After pureeing the mixture with one 8-oz can of crushed pineapple, I stirred in a little more than ⅓ cup of the second can. The texture in those popsicles was a real treat.

Peach

• 2 tbsp (1 oz) maple syrup
• 1 tbsp lemon juice (several good squeezes from half of a lemon)
• ½ cup vanilla yogurt
• 1 ⅓ cup pureed peaches (2 fresh peaches or 14.5-oz can sliced peaches, drained)
• Sprinkle or two of cinnamon, optional 

Put the maple syrup, lemon juice, yogurt, peaches, and cinnamon into a glass measuring cup and puree the contents with an immersion blender. Adding the peaches last makes it easier to add the maple syrup, lemon juice, and yogurt according to the measurement marks on the glass cup. If the mixture measures less than 2 cups, add more yogurt or juice from the canned peaches.

Vanilla Chocolate Chip

• 2 tbsp (1 oz) maple syrup
• ¼ cup milk or almond milk
• 1 ½ cup vanilla yogurt
• ⅓ cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips

Put the maple syrup, milk, and yogurt into a glass measuring cup and puree the contents with an immersion blender. Mix in the chocolate chips with a spoon after the rest of the mix has been pureed to a smooth, consistent texture.

Orange

• 1 ⅓ cups orange juice
• ⅓ cup orange marmalade
• 1 tbsp lemon juice (several good squeezes from half of a lemon)
• ⅓ cup vanilla yogurt

Put the orange juice, orange marmalade, lemon juice, and yogurt into a glass measuring cup and puree the contents with an immersion blender.

Strawberry Watermelon 

• 1 cup pureed watermelon (An 8-ounce container from the produce section will make about 1 ⅓ cups. You could make a watermelon martini with the excess.) 
• 6 medium strawberries
• 2 tbsp (1 oz) maple syrup
• 1 tbsp lemon juice (several good squeezes from half of a lemon)
• ⅓ cup vanilla yogurt

Place 8 ounces (or less) of watermelon cubes in a glass measuring cup and puree with an immersion blender.  If you have more than 1 cup of pureed watermelon, remove the excess. Add strawberries, maple syrup, lemon juice, and yogurt and puree. If the mixture measures less than 2 cups, add more yogurt.

Cherry

• 2 cups frozen cherries (No pits! Yay!) 
• ¼ cup hot water (makes it easier to use the immersion blender on the frozen cherries)
• 2 tbsp (1 oz) maple syrup
• ¼ cup milk or almond milk
• 1 tbsp lemon juice (several good squeezes from half of a lemon)
• ½ cup vanilla yogurt

Place frozen cherries in a glass measuring cup. Pour hot water over cherries and let sit for a few minutes. Add maple syrup, milk, lemon juice, and yogurt. (You may have to dirty a few measuring cups since the cherries went in first.) Puree the contents with an immersion blender. If the mixture measures less than 2 cups, add more yogurt.