Berry Yogurt Pops are the ideal childhood treat on a summer afternoon.
This morning, as I woke up in a cloud of white I was reminded of my favorite childhood summer memories. The crisp white sheets and fluffy white summer duvet puffed and pillowed around my face. Cool summer air sweetly danced through the window and into the room with fragrant drops of floral flavors brushing against my senses. The morning sunshine peaked through the sides of the blinds and swooped across my eyes. Sweet calm and gentle peace flowed through my lungs and seeped into my veins. I wanted to slip out of bed and sneak to the kitchen for a cup of creamy coffee and sneak out to the porch to watch the dew dry from the manicured grass. Then set my feet into the gentle tiny forest and walk down the long stretch to the lake.
Oh the perfect summer mornings of my childhood.
My grandparents lived on a large lake in Idaho when I was a child. Each summer my siblings and I would travel with my parents to spend a week of calming perfection at the lake house. Aunts, uncles, and cousins would join us as we piled into my grandparents large house for a week or two. Each morning my grandmother would be up making breakfast treats and pouring over pots of soup for lunch. In the late afternoon when the day had heated up and we were becoming scorched and bleached out from the hot sunshine, our skin pruned and pickled from the hours of play in the cool water we would sit on the shady porch eating Schwan’s frozen yogurt pops.
My grandmother kept a consistent supply of frozen treats in the basement freezer. The yogurt pops were an enchanting treat in the afternoon. Our minds and bodies exhausted from hours of play and childhood fantasy splashing through the deep lake waters off of the floating dock. I remember the giant rock that looked like an alligator waiting to snatch it’s prey from the bottom of the water. Lying silently on the lake floor waiting until I swam by to burst up and torpedo at my paddling legs. We played out the watery stories envisioned in our innocent minds taking turns at making up stories and activities. Our imaginations ran wild all day but would calm to rest as we sat on the concrete porch shaded by the perfect climbing tree eating the sweet bliss of berry yogurt pops. I bet this was the only time when our chatty imaginations and childish voices ran quiet.
Berry yogurt pops are the perfect childhood treat on a summer afternoon.
This recipes is simple and sweet. You can use whatever berries you tolerate or prefer best, or you can use a mix of berries. I almost always use frozen berries but fresh will work wonders as well and likely add a stronger, sweeter flavor. For stewing berries, I often place the ingredients into a pot on the stove, turn the burner to low and set to work at my kitchen table or counter, often working away responding to emails or researching a new recipe for the blog. Sometimes, I will also place bones in the oven to roast for bone broth. Since I put the burner on the lowest setting and work on other things I come mix the berries every ten minutes or so and often end up cooking them for nearly an hour. I love not watching them or standing over them. Just let them stew and awhile later one of my favorite foods is formed. If I am intentional I can get the berries stewed within about 20 minutes, but that requires a higher temperature for cooking and deliberate time standing at the stove making sure they don’t burn.
Once the stewed berries are complete they must be cooled before mixing with the yogurt so I place them in the fridge for an hour or two. Mixing the stewed berries into the yogurt creates a swirl of bright red and white colors reminiscent of thick finger-paint. Scooping the yogurt-berry mixture into the popsicle molds is pretty easy with a soup spoon and then place a stick into the mold and set it into the freezer.
I always let the popsicles cool overnight so they reach full freezing. I have a tendency to try to watch things freeze so any time I make a freezer treat I make it the day before and place it in my deep-freeze out of sight. So, if you leave a comment asking for exactly how many hours it takes to freeze these Berry Yogurt Pops, I won’t be able to tell you. When you take the pops out for eating, depending on your mold, they may need a few minutes to warm up enough to slide out. Or, if you are in a hurry you can carefully run them under warm water for about 45 seconds.
I hope you enjoy!
Berry Yogurt Pops
Ingredients
- 10 oz frozen berries of choice
- 3 Tbs water
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 cups 24-hour or lactose-free yogurt
Instructions
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Place the berries in a sauce pan with the water and honey. Cook over low heat to create stewed berries in a runny syrup. Cook time will be 20-40 minutes depending on the temperature you cook the berries at.
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Set the cooked berries aside and let cool.
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Place the yogurt into a large mixing bowl.
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When the berries have cooled, pour them over the top and briefly stir to get streaks of berries into the yogurt.
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Scoop the yogurt and berry mixture into popsicle molds. Add popsicle sticks. Place in the freezer over night.
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Enjoy the next day!