Kosher Recipe Link Up #1: Frozen Desserts!

I'm just going to say it - I'm not a big fan of summertime. Long, lazy days and temperatures where you can barely stand being outside for more than a few minutes at a time, are not my idea of an ideal season. I can barely wait until Autumn arrives, with its promises of cute jackets and sweaters and beautiful colors everywhere! But in the meantime, I'll take these sunny days if it means I get to eat (endless) amounts of frozen desserts!

As much as I'm not a fan of summer, I do have very fond memories of spending all of my summers from newborn to 15, at my grandparents' house. Whether it meant tying one end of the skipping rope my grandfather had made for me and my sister to a rail, and taking turns, turning it or going on our annual trip to High Park, summer always meant exciting surprises and treats. My favorite? The ice cream truck. We would sit on the front steps of my grandparents house, clutching the loonies and toonies (one and two dollar coins for those of you who aren't Canadian!) my grandparents had divided amongst us and wait for the sound of the music on the loudspeaker. And although we knew that the truck would stop directly in front of their house, we could never resist running to the end or middle of the street to meet it there instead! My grandparents always got a classic chocolate/ vanilla twist cone while my brother, sister and I would undoubtedly either opt for something dipped in that magical chocolate or dipped in sprinkles. Just a couple of weeks ago, M surprised me with a twist ice cream cone dipped in sprinkles and I was literally giddy with excitement. It felt like I was right back on those steps just waiting for the loudspeaker to announce the arrival we had eagerly been anticipating.

The thing is though, that ice cream truck didn't come around until 7 or 8pm and no one can expect grandkids to wait that long for ice cream! So around lunch time we'd get a bowl of ice cream too (if we finished our meal of course - or you know the amount of our age i.e. 10 years old meant 10 more bites...). When that jumbo neapolitan ice cream tub came out we always hoped there was enough chocolate left for everyone. Inevitably, the chocolate would dwindle to the point where only vanilla and then only strawberry remained. I don't know how she did it, but my grandmother would make the best milkshakes for us using the leftover flavors we were always hesitant to eat. Or she'd stir the ice cream in our bowls until it resembled a cold, creamy soup and using straws we'd laugh and walk around with our bowls. I was incredibly, incredibly, incredibly fortunate to have such amazing grandparents. They're missed every day.

Having said so much already about frozen treats, I am thrilled to be participating in the first Kosher Recipe Link Up! Although when I heard the theme was frozen desserts, I was a bit nervous. I've made sorbet exactly once and ice cream once as well. Both were made following explicit directions from an awesome cookbook, Fresh & Easy Kosher Cooking. Given that I'm not sure I could create anything akin to this on my own without a recipe I decided to transfer my favorite childhood memories of ice cream into popsicle form!

Below you will find the recipes for two types of popsicles, a classic vanilla chocolate twist with sprinkles (a tribute to my grandparents!) as well as something with a bit more fruit for those of you who prefer a somewhat healthier alternative. I love fruit but I love it even more when it's baked into a muffin or covered in chocolate! So I made one of my favorite fruit desserts into a popsicle! A chocolate covered strawberry popsicle! They're also fantastic poured into a tupperware and frozen for a few hours. I did this with the leftovers and it turned out really well! They don't require an ice cream maker, and you can find popsicle molds at any dollar store this time of year (I found this set at my local Dollarama for $1.25!). I wanted to make this frozen desserts contribution as accessible, simple and hassle free as possible, eliminating the need for any extra appliances or more than 15 minutes in the kitchen on a hot day!

 I hope you enjoy and be sure to check out the other recipes in this Kosher Link Up and create some cherished summer memories of your own!

Chocolate Strawberry Pops! (makes approximately 10, 0.5 oz popsicles)

6 tbsp Nutriwhip, slighly defrosted
1/2 cup strawberries (you can choose to either puree them for a smoother texture, or after washing and checking them, cut them in half and add to the mixer while whipping the dessert topping)
2 tbsp chocolate syrup

Using the whisk attachment on a stand or hand mixer, whip the Nutriwhip for 5 minutes in a medium sized bowl. You do not want to over-whip or it will not pour into the molds smoothly! Whip it just long enough that it holds to the attachment for a few seconds and isn't completely liquid.

Add the strawberries and chocolate syrup and whip for an additional 1 minute on high.

Pour the mixture into the molds (I used a tsp). You can either do so by adding a chocolate mixture first to the bottom (before adding the strawberries to the mix) and then the strawberry mix - this will give you more of a chocolate dipped strawberry effect, or you can transfer the combined mixture in at once!

Place in the freezer to set, for approximately 2-4 hours.

Run the popsicle mold under warm water for 10 seconds to help with removing your ice cream pops!

If you plan on also making the next recipe, do not clean out the bowl you used to mix, just yet!



(Neapolitan) Chocolate Vanilla Twist Pops! (makes approximately 10, 0.5 oz popsicles)

4-6 tbsp of chocolate syrup, drizzled
6 tbsp Nutriwhip
a pinch of sprinkles in each popsicle mold

For an extra special treat and to really combine my grandparents favorite ice cream flavors, mix this in the same bowl you used to whip up the previous batch of popsicles. That hint of strawberry flavor will turn this twist into a Neapolitan!

Using a whisk attachment on a stand or hand mixer, whip the Nutriwhip for 5 minutes at medium speed in a medium sized bowl.

Beat for 1 minute on high speed.

You do not want to over-whip or it will not pour into the molds smoothly! Whip it just long enough that it holds to the attachment for a few seconds and isn't completely liquid.

Drizzle the chocolate and with a spoon, mix it in to achieve a marbled effect.

Drop a pinch of sprinkles into the bottom of the popsicle molds. Fill the remainder with the whipped/ marbleized mixture.

Place in the freezer for approximately 2-4 hours.

Run the popsicle mold under warm water for 10 seconds to help with removing your ice cream pops!