Roasted Banana & Butterscotch Pudding Pops

I'm really not very good at keeping up with the internet food celebrations.  National food days always pass me by and then I regret not making and consuming piles of waffles, or cookies, or whatever the rest of the world is eating.

There are a couple of reasons behind my lack of motivation for these pseudo holidays.  First, I always forget about them until the day before, and then I stare at my computer screen and whisper to myself, "Uhh, missed another one," and secondly, because even if I did get organized enough to keep up with them, my cravings do not often comply with what the rest of the world happens to be eating.  

However, this week was different, and that is because this week is Popsicles Week and I am almost always in the mood for a popsicle -- especially if it happens to be unearthly creamy.  

My Instagram feed has been overflowing with the prettiest frozen treats imaginable and I want to lick my phone so badly.  But ew, I heard that cellphones are reallyyyyy dirty, so I have tried to show some restraint. 

If you have not already invested in a popsicle mold for this Summer, you should.  I had one on my Amazon list forever before I finally ordered this one and I am so happy that I did.  Your eyes may be assaulted with an influx of popsicles before this Summer comes to an end, but I just have SO many ideas!  

I should tell you right now that these popsicles taste like banana and butterscotch, but the overarching flavor is pure and simple brown sugar.  The dark, molasses-y sugar blankets the soft and familiar flavors of the roasted bananas and the slightly salty butterscotch. 

I roasted my bananas with butter and brown sugar.  If your bananas are not quite as ripe as you would like, this is a wonderful way to deepen that banana flavor. 

The inspiration behind these pops goes entirely to Deb at Smitten Kitchen.  I came across her recipe for these Butterscotch Pudding Popsicles and I knew that I needed them in my life.  

I made her butterscotch base, and then added roasted bananas that I had pureed with a bit of coconut cream.  

I know, I know -- most of you are tired of this coconut cream fest, but I cannot bring myself to stop putting it in anything and everything. 

Because this base is so rich and thick, you do not have to wait to put the sticks into the popsicle molds.  I really like that because I am notoriously bad at remembering to come back and slide them in after two hours. 

The waiting is hard, but the rewards are unbeatable. 

My favorite part of popsicles are those long, rectangular indentations.  I do not know why, but they bring a whole lot of happiness to my heart. 

Are you a biter or a licker?  

I always begin very patiently and ladylike and then end up biting through the frozen bar of creaminess and hurting my teeth.  It's so worth it though. 

I know that these popsicles would not exactly win any beauty pageants.  They certainly have nothing on these rainbow pops in looks, but what they lack in allure, they make up in flavor. 

It is hot outside.  We need refreshment on a stick. 

Sincerely, 

Pedantic Foodie

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Roasted Banana & Butterscotch Popsicles 

makes 10 popsicles / adapted from Smitten Kitchen

for the roasted bananas

- 3 medium ripe bananas 

- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes 

- 1 1/2 tablespoons light brown sugar 

- 1/2 cup coconut cream 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Peel bananas and slice lengthwise.  Lay the bananas cut-side up in a glass baking pan and sprinkle with butter cubes and brown sugar. 

Roast for 15 minutes.  The sugar will have caramelized and the bananas deepened in color. 

Place the bananas, along with any syrup from the pan, in the work bowl of your food processor, along with the coconut cream.  Pulse until smooth.  Set aside while you prepare the butterscotch base. 

for the butterscotch base

- 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream 

- 3/4 cup light brown sugar 

- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature 

- 1 tablespoon cornstarch 

- 1 1/2 cups whole milk 

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

- heaping 1/4 teaspoon sea salt 

In a medium saucepan, combine heavy cream, brown sugar, and unsalted butter.  Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and allow the mixture to simmer for 10 minutes; stir the mixture frequently.  The mixture will become deeper in color and will thicken slightly. 

Whisk in cornstarch and milk and raise the heat to medium.  Cook, stirring frequently, for 5-10 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened to a pudding-like consistency.  Remove from heat and add salt and vanilla.

*Cook’s note: Be sure to taste the mixture at this point so that you can adjust the salt if preferred.  I like mine a bit on the saltier side, so I like to add a little extra.  Just do what tastes right to you! 

Whisk in the banana puree and allow the mixture to cool slightly before distributing amongst the popsicle molds.  Insert wooden popsicle sticks and freeze for 4-6 hours, until solid.

To remove, soak the molds in warm water for several minutes.  Enjoy!

*Cook’s note: I like to wrap my popsicles individually in parchment paper and zip-top freezer bags for longer storage. 

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Mango & Mint Ginger Pops

I recently partnered with Cost Plus Word Market to create a Summery popsicle recipe perfect for these hot afternoons!

I spent many a Summer afternoon out on our family’s back deck with my siblings, playing with our puppy while licking dripping popsicles.  My mother would provide us with seemingly endless frozen sticks as long as we would keep our grassy feet and sticky hands outside for a couple hours.

My sister and I would always give our little brother all the orange and purple popsicles because nobody else liked those but our mom would not buy a new box until we had emptied the last one.  Thankfully four-year-olds are really compliant when it comes to frozen sugar.  

On a side note, he would "share" his popsicles with our dog.  Hmm.  Apparently she did not mind orange either.

While I would still happily unwrap one of the classically American “Rocket Pops,” we are grown-ups now and we can be a little fancy.

These popsicles are embarrassingly easy to make, especially if you have a food processor.

Mango juice, lime juice, and a hearty handful of fresh mint go into the food processor and are pulsed until the mint is finely chopped.

This Belvoir Fruit Farms Ginger Cordial adds an unexpected kick to the sweetness of the mango and fresh mint.

Though my tastes may have matured over the years, my patience has not.  The hours of waiting for the pops to freeze are still agonizing. 

In the past, making popsicles at home has been a challenge. After waiting four to five hours for my creations to freeze, I was always so disheartened when they would not come out of the molds. I have to say that this mold was pretty painless! And I love the classic, rounded shape, I am not into those square popsicles.

These popsicles are so refreshing and unexpected.  I am loving the combination of fruity mango, herbaceous mint, and spicy ginger on these hot June afternoons. 

Now I am dying to make everything into popsicles.  I'm thinking a watermelon-strawberry-lime number may need to happen soon... 

A freezer full of popsicles and not a single orange to worry about.  Adulthood seems pretty nice at the moment. 

Sincerely, 

Pedantic Foodie

Many thanks to Cost Plus World Market for sponsoring this post!  I really enjoy working with brands that I truly love, and their support helps me keep this site going.  As always, all opinions are completely my own.  

You can find more of World Market's Summery products along with delicious ice cream recipes here to help you stay cool and make this season extra special! You can also check out their Ice Cream Shop for ice cream molds and accessories!

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Mango & Mint Ginger Pops

makes about 14 popsicles

- 4 cans Philippine Mango Juice (8.4 oz each)

- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

- 1/2 cup fresh mint, packed tightly

- 1 cup Belvoir Fruit Farms Ginger Cordial 

- popsicle sticks

In the work bowl of your food processor, combine lime juice, one can of the mango juice, and the fresh mint.  Pulse until the mint is finely chopped.  Then, transfer the mixture to a large measuring cup or pitcher and stir in the ginger cordial and the remaining mango juice. 

Distribute the mixture evenly amongst your popsicle molds and cover with the lids.  Freeze for about one hour, then put the popsicle sticks in place and freeze for an additional 3-4 hours. 

When the popsicles are solid, fill your sink with about 4-inches of warm water.  Place the popsicle mold in the water for 20-30 seconds, then remove the popsicles from the mold.  

For long term storage, wrap each popsicle individually in parchment paper and place in zip-top bags.  Or you can just eat them now because Summer is short and these are delicious.  Enjoy! 

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Strawberry Crisp with Buttermilk Cream Cheese Ice Cream

Go ahead, roll your eyes, I know what you are thinking. 

"She just posted a grilling recipe, then some random collection of links about her favorite things as if she’s Oprah, and now some sort of baked fruit concoction?"

 Pretty darn predictable.  

It would seem that we have all fallen into a trap of blogging predictability.  Maybe everyone is baking the same things right now, and maybe I should try to defy my natural cravings and give you a recipe for homemade kelp chips…  I could do that.  I could sprinkle some nutritional yeast over them and say that they taste just like Cheetos.  Maybe it would end up being a nominee for the most popular pin for vegans.  Maybe.

The reason I have not done that (other than the glaring fact that it sounds positively revolting), is that this ever-changing, but occasionally predictable, site is like my brain come to life, except less stressful and with pretty pictures.  I share with you the things that make me happy, whether they be cream puffs or new lipstick, and that means that sometimes I will just be making a variation on whatever everyone else is making, because we are all craving the same things right now.

This week, my cravings, and the surplus of berries at the market, told me to make something sweet, berry-filled, and crunchy-topped - and I obliged.  And, hackneyed or not, it was absolutely delightful.

This site’s purpose is not to convince you that I make the best corn in the world (even though I might suspect so), or that you simply must use my recipes.  The purpose is simply to inspire you, and to maybe remind you of how satisfying it is to toss some berries with sugar and cornstarch, pinch some butter into oats, nuts, and sticky brown sugar, and watch it turn into a bubbling, golden brown dessert. 

If my imperfect pictures or rambling words tempt you to get into your kitchen and create, then I will consider it a success.

Let’s talk about this crisp, or crumble, or bake - whatever you would like to call it.  Rolled Oat & Pecan-Blanketed Strawberry Compote?  Sure, if you are feeling pretentious and fancy.

If you asked me what I consider to be the best dessert for summertime I will always say crisps.  I love them because they celebrate the flavors of the season, require very minimal effort, and they can be served hot or at room temperature - making them the perfect choice for company.

Toss some fruit together a few minutes before your guests arrive and let this bake while you eat dinner, then serve warm with ice cream.  Everyone loves crisps, and if they don't, well…why did you invite them over anyways?

While crisps could certainly stand on their own, they are really the only dessert that I feel almost demands ice cream.  It pains me to have ice cream with my cake - like, why?  And brownies are far better as a solo act, but crisps... Well, they just beg for it.

And I am nothing if not accommodating - so accommodating, in fact, that I dreamed up a special ice cream expressly for this crisp.  How generous.  

Enter buttermilk cream cheese ice cream.  I called my fiancé after tasting it and between an obnoxious number of “oohs” and “ahhhs” I described it as an ultra creamy frozen yogurt.  It has the same tang of yogurt due to the buttermilk, but the cream cheese gives it a very sweet, rich flavor that only cream can provide.  It has made regular ol’ vanilla ice cream very pallid in my mind.  

 Warm strawberries with a toffee-like crust meet tangy, indulgent ice cream. 

Just look at that crispy crust.  

There is nothing wrong with the classics, not one thing.

Sincerely, 

Pedantic Foodie

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Strawberry Crisp with Buttermilk Cream Cheese Ice Cream

serves 6

for the ice cream

- 1 cup whole milk

- 2/3 cup granulated sugar

- 4 large egg yolks 

- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature 

- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk egg yolks in a medium bowl until they have slightly lightened in color.  Set aside.  

Combine milk and sugar in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat.  Stirring often, cook until the milk is steaming, and the sugar has completely dissolved.

Slowly stream half of the steaming milk mixture into the egg yolks while whisking constantly.  Pour the tempered egg yolks back into the saucepan and return to heat.  Cook, stirring often, until the mixture has thickened slightly; about 3-5 minutes. 

Remove from heat and pour the ice cream base into your blender.  Add buttermilk,  cream cheese, and vanilla and blend until smooth. 

Fill a large bowl 2/3 of the way with ice and cool water and place the ice cream base in a medium bowl that will fit inside the larger bowl.

Place the ice cream bowl into the ice bath and whisk constantly until the custard is cool.  

Place the base in your ice cream maker and prepare according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer the soft ice cream to the freezer to set up while you prepare the crisp.  

for the filling

- 5 cups strawberries, sliced 

- 4 tablespoons cornstarch 

- 1/2 cup granulated sugar 

- 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon or lime juice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Place strawberries in an 8x8 glass baking pan.  Sprinkle with cornstarch, sugar, and lemon juice and toss to coat   

Set aside while you prepare the topping.  

for the topping

- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 

- 1/2 cup brown sugar 

- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 

- 1/2 cup old fashion rolled oats 

- 1/4 cup whole raw pecans, finely chopped

- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

Combine flour, sugar, salt, oats, and pecans in a small bowl.  Use the tips of your fingers to work the butter into the flour mixture, forming a rough crumble.  

Sprinkle the crumble on top of the strawberry filling.  

Bake for 30 minutes, or until the strawberries are bubbling and the crumble is deep golden.  

Place on a wire rack and allow to cool for 15-20 minutes.  This will give the filling time to set up a bit.  

Serve warm with ice cream.  Enjoy!!