Tag: fruit

Mini Chocolate Banana Bread

Take banana bread to the next level of deliciousness and make it mini chocolate banana bread instead! This recipe is adapted slightly from Smitten Kitchen. The original recipe is divine as is, but a whole chocolate banana bread is just too much for one.  Not to mention, I only had two bananas and the original recipe called for three. I used one and a half for this, then ate the other half with my lunch.  Plus, I just got some mini loaf pans I was dying to try out! I couldn’t resist.  It worked beautifully.

The bread is rich, moist, and chocolatey delicious.  I admit I skipped the chocolate pieces. You see, it was supposed to be double chocolate banana bread.  However, the chunk of chocolate I had was too cold and hard to break up and I was too lazy to wait for it to soften. And, I wanted banana bread ASAP!

If you want it super-chocolatey go for both and add about 1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate. Then you get chocolate chocolate chip banana bread.




Tools for Mini Chocolate Banana Bread

Wilton Mini Loaf Pan

I got two of these. They’re about half the size of a normal loaf pan, and just perfect for smaller scale baking. I used them for this chocolate banana bread first.  Then, I took my white bread recipe and divided it between the two pans. Voilà, two mini breads instead of one large one! And, they won’t go stale before I can finish them.

The pans also work for other kinds of quick breads and mini meat loaf too. Eat one, freeze the second one. Or, cook once, eat twice.

More Banana Recipes

banana smoothie for oneBanana Smoothie Recipe for One

Easy, refreshing, and not too sweet. A good in-between meal snack you can make in minutes.

 

strawberry banana yogurt popsicles plateStrawberry Banana Yogurt Popsicles

Beat the summer heat with this sweet treat that’s actually good for you. It’s loaded with fruit! And there’s no added sugar either.

 

cinnamon sugar bananasCinnamon Sugar Bananas with Brandy

Whip up an elegant dessert without a lot of work. All you need is bananas, a bit of butter, brandy, and only a touch of sugar.

 




Mini Blueberry Hand Pie Recipe

This week would have been my dad’s 84th birthday.  I thought about writing a tribute post last year, when he died, but I was in no mental condition to do it. And then all hell kept breaking loose and I was too physically and emotionally wrung out to do anything that wasn’t absolutely necessary.  However, one thing about my dad: he had a terrible sweet tooth. He loved desserts, chocolate, and pies. Especially pies.  Particularly strawberry and blueberry pies. Sadly, I haven’t found the right strawberry pie recipe yet. For some reason, most of them have rhubarb, which he hated, or cream cheese, or even jello?! (nope nope nope) but this mini blueberry hand pie recipe is something he would have loved.

The pies are stuffed with blueberries, they’re sweet, and they taste like long, summer days.

I happen to like the fact that this mini blueberry hand pie recipe makes a bunch of little, one person serving hand-held pies, rather than a single large one.  It’s much easier to just eat one, and a hand-held pie is a lot less messy than a standard pie.  You don’t need silverware or a plate, you can just pick one up and eat it. They make a wonderful, sweet, summery treat. They’re easy to eat, and easy to pack for lunch or a picnic, without making a big mess. A slice of pie doesn’t travel all that well!

I’ve adapted this recipe from King Arthur, cutting the recipe in half to make four pies, rather than eight. Eight was a bit much! If you don’t have time to finish the recipe all at once, you can make the filling, chill the dough, and then come back to it later. The finished pies will keep well in the fridge for several days, or you can freeze them.




More Fruit Dessert Recipes

poached pears with chocolate sauce and ice creamPoached Pears with Chocolate Sauce and Ice Cream

Fruit, ice cream, and chocolate! It’s the dessert trifecta.  Gently cook the pears, drizzle them with chocolate sauce, and add vanilla ice cream.  Great for company, but you don’t have to share! Because this is food for one.

Rustic Pear Tart

An easy way to satisfy your sweet tooth. Make the dough, let it rest, cut the fruit, and bake.  Simple.

 

easy one serving apple crisp recipeEasy One Serving Apple Crisp Recipe

A one bowl, one pan easy one serving apple crisp recipe that’s perfect for one. You don’t have to over-indulge (or worry about it going stale).

 

cinnamon sugar bananasCinnamon Sugar Bananas with Brandy

Treat yourself to this simple dessert with a bit of butter, a touch of cinnamon, some brown sugar, and a splash of brandy.

 




Rustic Pear Tart

Let’s face it, most pear tart recipes are complicated.  You have to make the dough, then let it rest.  Next you have to pre-bake the crust, or maybe go out and get some frozen puff pastry. I’ve even seen recipes calling for making the puff pastry at home (not happening).   Or, there are recipes requiring a traditional full-blown pie crust.  I have a lovely apple pie recipe I hardly ever make because it’s just too much fussing.  This rustic pear tart, on the other hand, is fairly easy and straightforward.

You don’t have to crimp the edges, or pre-bake the crust. You don’t even have to cook the pears in advance. I saw one recipe that had 22 steps! Nope. Nope. Nope. This recipe is much easier than that! There are only six steps.  Much better! The active time is about 15 minutes of work, and the whole thing is done in about an hour and a half (including resting in the fridge and baking).

First you make the dough. That’s only five basic ingredients you likely already have at home.  Then, you let it cool in the refrigerator for an hour, and press out the dough into a roughly circular shape. Next, add the fruit, sprinkle the spices on top, and bake.

I’ve made this tart with pears, because I had some extremely ripe pears I wanted to use up. If you don’t have pears, or would rather use something else, apples will work beautifully too. And, both are in season now.  Once summer comes back around, you might try it with peaches or maybe plums too.

The original recipe (which I cut in half) required a food processor. If you don’t have one, you can use a pastry cutter or two sharp knives instead. I have included instructions for both.

UPDATE: I suppose I should say that I decided this was still too complicated and simplified it. What really happened was I looked at the wrong tart recipe and followed the dough recipe for that instead!  Oops! But, a happy mistake, because it was delicious and easier! Win-win!

 

rustic pear tart




Rustic Pear Tart Substitutions and Variations

  • Don’t have pears? Make this with apples instead (or try peaches in the summer)
  • Add some green cardamom to the tart (along with the other spices)
  • Replace some of the flour with ground almond meal
  • Add a little Reisling or other dessert wine to the filling
  • Top with slivered almonds




More Pear Dessert Recipes

ginger pear breadSmall Batch Ginger Pear Bread

Sweet, juicy pears balanced with the bite of some cinnamon and a bit of ground ginger, topped with chopped almonds.

 

poached pears with chocolate sauce and ice cream

Poached Pears with Chocolate Sauce and Ice Cream

Indulgent? Maybe. So what. It’s rich, creamy, and delicious. Looks hard, but it’s really quite simple to make. Fancy enough for company, but worth it for yourself.

 

pear dessert crepeEasy Pear Crepe Dessert Recipe for One Person

Real crepes are hard. This is easy. I cheated. Dessert in a few minutes, no bother. Still delectable.  Serve plain or top with whipped cream or ice cream.

Strawberry Banana Yogurt Popsicles

I’m told it’s popsicle week this week, and who am I to argue?  It’s barely summer but NY has already hit “swelter season.”  That means it’s what we call 3H weather: hazy, hot, and humid.  Strawberry banana yogurt popsicles are sweet, cold, and have no additional sugar added. They’re the perfect summer treat when the temperature hits “Oh no, you gotta be kidding me!”  There’s also no cooking or heating anything involved; ideal when it’s just too warm and sticky to face a hot stove.

All you have to do is measure the ingredients, blend everything together, and then freeze. About 2 hours later,  you’ve got a great snack.

I adapted the recipe slightly from one I found online here.  The original recipe was for 10 pops, which is way too much.  So, I cut it in half.   I also used strawberries instead of mixed berries. It’s the height of strawberry season and they are outrageously delicious!

strawberry banana yogurt popsicles

I have a four-pop mold popsicle set, which holds about three ounces each.  I’ve had them for years, which is both great and annoying. Great because they’ve held up well; annoying because since the pops all insert into one tray, it’s hard to get only one pop at a time.  I’d much rather have something like this,  which is designed to make it easier to get one pop out at a time.

Some molds are bigger (or smaller), so the final number of pops you get will depend on the size of the mold you have. If you don’t have a mold at all, you can pour the mixture into an ice cube tray and stick toothpicks in it. That will give you a dozen bite size mini-pops instead.




Strawberry Banana Yogurt Popsicles Substitutions and Variations

  • Use blackberries, raspberries, or a combination of berries instead of just strawberries
  • If you have leftover mixture, add some crushed ice, blend it again, and make a smoothie
  • Add a splash of vanilla extract and/or nutmeg
  • Go for some tequila or rum and make adult popsicles (figure roughly one ounce of liquor per five ounces of everything else)

 

Ozera Reusable Popsicle Molds

This design makes it far easier to get one popsicle at a time. Each mold sits in its own individual slot, so you don’t have to struggle to get just one pop. There’s also a little tiny brush to clean them with. Or, just put them in the dishwasher.

ZZoku Duo Quick Pop Maker

If you really want to get fancy, try out this juice pop maker. Freeze the container ahead of time, then add the ingredients, and you’ll get a tasty frozen treat in just 7 minutes. It doesn’t even need electricity. Note that this will only work with sugar-sweetened pops (not sugar-free or artificial sweeteners).

More Fruit Desserts and Drinks

juice popsicleOne Ingredient Juice Popsicles

My mom used to make these when I was little. They were delicious then, and still are. A healthy, sweet treat that’s great on hot days.

 

banana smoothie for oneBanana Smoothie Recipe for One

A sweet drink that’s packed with vitamins and potassium, rather than processed sugar. Great for a snack.

 

cinnamon sugar bananasCinnamon Sugar Bananas with Brandy

Treat yourself with an easy dessert that takes very little effort to make. Serve plain or top with chocolate sauce or ice cream.

 

strawberry basil mojitoStrawberry Basil Mojito with Lime

Kick back, relax, and enjoy a refreshing adult beverage. Close your eyes and pretend you’re on a tropical beach, swaying under the palm trees.

 




Caramelized Pineapple Chunks for One Person

I love chocolate, but sometimes it keeps me awake at night. So, I’m always on the lookout for delicious desserts that don’t take a lot of time to make, especially in warmer weather when I don’t want to keep the oven on for a long time.  Caramelized pineapple chunks hits the spot perfectly.  It’s only got four ingredients and takes only about 15 minutes to make. Perfect!

This is a dessert that’s sweet, fruity, and seems decadent (but isn’t really). The pineapple chunks are cooked with just a bit of butter and some brown sugar to form a rich brown caramel sauce.  The rest is basically fruit (and optional nuts).  It only takes a few minutes to make, so you don’t have to stand over the stove for half the day.  The original recipe called for rum (which I didn’t have), so I left it out.  If you do have it, by all means use it.  Dark rum would be best.

You can also garnish it in different ways. Top it with some chopped pistachios, or crushed almonds.  Or, add some strawberries (one fruit is good, two fruits are even better).  It’s both sweet and somehow savory at the same time.

While you can use a fresh pineapple, then you have to worry about using up the rest of it.  I got around this problem by going to the market and getting cut up chunks of fresh pineapple. It’s much easier, less cutting, no mess, and no concerns about eating the rest of it before it spoils (which would be a shame!).

If you can’t get the fresh chunks, you can use the canned variety in a pinch. Just make sure to get the kind in juice, not in syrup.  If you use the canned version, cook the pineapple in the juice from the can (if you like) instead of orange juice.

One thing, don’t walk away from it. Leave it in the pan too long and the sugar will burn, making a terrible mess (ask me how I know this).

If you want, you can make the whole thing in advance and eat it the next day. It’s better slightly warm or at room temperature, so let it sit out for a while to warm up before you eat it.




Caramelized Pineapple Chunks Substitutions and Variations

  • Top the pineapple with a shot of dark rum or brandy (or try adding the rum to the sauce)
  • Garnish the fruit with chopped nuts (pistachios or ground almonds)
  • Add some strawberries on top
  • Serve with butter cookies
  • Top with crème fraȋche or sour cream

More Fruit Dessert Recipes

pear dessert crepeEasy Pear Crepe Dessert Recipe for One Person

Crepes are hard. Using a tortilla instead is easy. Lightly cook the pears in butter, add cinnamon and sugar, and roll into the “crepe.”  Brandy would be good too. Or pear liqueur.

 

cinnamon sugar apple breadSmall Batch Cinnamon Sugar Apple Bread

A moist, sweet quick bread that’s chock-full of apple chunks and topped with crackly cinnamon sugar.

 

poached pears with chocolate sauce and ice creamPoached Pears with Chocolate Sauce and Ice Cream

Gently cooked in butter, drizzled with chocolate sauce, and garnished with ice cream.  An easy dessert you can enjoy just for yourself (or with company).

 

mini blueberry hand piesMini Blueberry Hand Pie Recipe

Packed with blueberries, these homemade pies fit in your hand. You don’t have to cut it or get a plate. Just pick one up and eat.

 




Easy One Serving Apple Crisp Recipe

It’s officially fall, so that means it’s also officially apple season! This easy one serving apple crisp recipe really satisfies that apple craving, while indulging your sweet tooth at the same time. I had a serious hankering for something sweet, but not too gooey, and this hits the spot.

Try to use apples that are large, crisp, and juicy, but not too sweet.  I am lucky enough to have access to a greenmarket with a farmer who grows 75 kinds of apples.  So, I used Esopus Spitzenberg (supposedly Thomas Jefferson’s favorite apple).  If you don’t have 75 kinds of apples, Granny Smith or Mutsu or similar will do just fine.

The original recipe called for 2 cups of sugar (for 12 servings), which was waaay too much.  Every other recipe I saw used half that.  So, I followed suit and cut it in  half.  It’s still sweet and delicious, without endangering  your teeth.




Easy One Serving Apple Crisp Recipe Substitutions and Variations

  • Give in to the pumpkin spice craze and add ground cloves and ginger
  • Try a splash of brandy (especially Calvados)
  • If you want your crisp more syrupy, add some apple cider
  • Serve with ice cream or whipped cream on top

Tools and Ingredients for Easy One Serving Apple Crisp

 

black and decker mini chopper

Black & Decker Food Chopper

A mini chopper is essentially a food processor’s little cousin.  This is perfect for grinding up the oatmeal in this recipe.  And, it takes up a lot less space than a food processor.  It’s great for chopping nuts, dicing onions, making pesto, or even grinding a small batch of meat for meatballs.

HIC Square Baking Dish small porcelain baking dish

This dish is ideal for baking smaller casseroles, cakes, crisps, and crumbles.  Use it for brownies, peach crumble or a mini-meatloaf.  It’s perfectly content in the oven, the dishwasher, and the microwave. And, it also takes up very little space in your cupboard.

More Fruit Dessert Recipes

cinnamon sugar apple breadSmall Batch Cinnamon Sugar Apple Bread

Crackly cinnamon sugar topping, lots of chopped apples, and a downscaled recipe that’s perfect for one person.

 

Peach Crumble Recipe for One

Sweet summer peaches, two little bowls, and one pan.  Soooo good. Make sure to top it with some vanilla ice cream. Because you deserve it.

 

poached pears with chocolate sauce and ice creamPoached Pears with Chocolate Sauce and Ice Cream

A classic French dessert that’s remarkably easy to make.  Poach the pears gently, then add chocolate and ice cream. Fancy huh?

 

caramelized pineapple chunksCaramelized Pineapple Chunks for One Person

Delicious, easy, and pantry-friendly. Hint: you can use canned pineapple! And it only takes a few minutes to make. Serve plain, topped with chopped nuts, or add other fruit too.




Frozen Mango Yogurt Dessert Recipe Without an Ice Cream Machine

It’s so hot and sticky in NY you can practically swim in the air.  Bleah!  Even I don’t want to turn on the stove in this weather.  When it feels like 100 degrees outside, dinner is a no cook meal.   After dinner,  it’s this frozen mango yogurt dessert recipe. It’s super-easy to make. And, you don’t need an ice cream machine or any special equipment either (a blessing in a small kitchen).  An ordinary blender (or a stick blender) will do just fine.  You also don’t have to add any sugar or honey. The recipe gets its sweetness entirely from the natural sugars in the fruit.

I’ve adapted this from Foodaholic’s frozen lemon ginger mango recipe.  She made enough for a family (I didn’t), and I also changed her technique slightly. She freezes the yogurt and the fruit separately and then blends them together.  I found it got much too hard that way.  And, it’s an extra container to wash.  So, I just put it all in the blender and hit the button.  She is right that the yogurt must be thick (Greek yogurt works best), and that it will crystallize if you leave it in the freezer too long.

If you can get good fresh mangoes, use them! If you can’t, or if you are lazy and don’t want the fuss and mess of peeling and cutting them, buy the frozen mangoes from Trader Joe’s.  Take out what you need and let the fruit defrost slightly before trying to put it in the blender.




Frozen Mango Yogurt Dessert Substitutions and Variations

  • Don’t have mangoes?  Try it with peaches instead
  • Add a drizzle of honey
  • Toast the almonds before adding them
  • Try a squeeze of lime instead of lemon juice
  • Be adventurous and substitute cardamom for the ginger (sort of a frozen mango lassi)

More Mango and Yogurt Recipes

chicken mango stir fryQuick Chicken Mango Stir Fry Recipe

The sweetness of mango and bell peppers with the heat of chilis. The result is a colorful, flavorful dish that’s easy to prepare.  It’s flexible too.  Swap the regular peas for snap peas, add more chili for extra heat, try some mini corn, or  give it a Thai spin with lime, cilantro, and basil.

mango cottage cheese and honeyCottage Cheese Yogurt and Fruit Salad

Got a minute? Make some lunch. All you have to do is dump and mix.  It’s easy, and really refreshing on a hot day too.

 

fish fillet with yogurt sauceFish Fillet in Yogurt Sauce

Creamy, rich and ready in half an hour. There’s a minimum of prep too.  Use any fairly firm fish that’s not too strongly flavored.

 

greek yogurt chocolate cakeGreek Yogurt Chocolate Cake

So you’re craving a sweet treat, but can’t finish an entire normal size cake. This one is miniaturized.  It’s got a triple dose of chocolate (chips, cocoa, and a chocolate ganache icing).  And you only need one bowl to make it.




Small Batch Cinnamon Sugar Apple Bread

This cinnamon sugar apple bread is a moist, sweet (but not too sweet), treat that’s chock-full of apple chunks, and topped with cinnamon sugar. It’s been miniaturized, so it’s the perfect amount for one person to enjoy.  No worries about overdoing it!

Perfect for Labor Day weekend (the traditional start of fall—and apple season) and for Rosh Hashanah, when we eat apples and honey for a sweet new year.

The cinnamon sugar combo in this bread is also called “snickerdoodle.” You may wonder why. The answer is: nobody knows. But somehow that’s become the name in the US for cookies and other baked goods flavored with cinnamon sugar.
The cinnamon sugar combo in this bread is also called “snickerdoodle.” You may wonder why. The answer is: nobody knows. But somehow that’s become the name in the US for cookies and other baked goods flavored with cinnamon sugar.

I vividly remember the first time I heard of snickerdoodle cookies. We were at an outdoor concert at Tanglewood. A woman near us had a big batch of them, packaged up in a large Tiffany box!

I brought a full-size version to my brother’s house for the holidays once. They gobbled it up! Pretty good, considering it was competing with mom’s New York cheesecake.

I have reduced the sugar and the vanilla, because the original recipe was far too sweet for me. The result is a delicious, and easy to make, quick bread (think banana bread, but with apples rather than bananas), that’s full of apple flavor and topped with a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar.

If you can get them, use a Canville Blanc D’Hiver apple (which is a French tart apple). If not, Granny Smith, Mutsu, or GingerGold will work well. You want an apple that’s firm, crisp, and not too sweet.

I once accidentally made this with cayenne (!) instead of cinnamon. I mention it because it was much better than I would have expected.  I’m not sure I’d do it again deliberately, but it did give me an idea (see the substitutions section).




Substitutions and Variations for Cinnamon Sugar Apple Bread

  • Add 1/2 tsp ground ginger and the seeds from two cardamom pods for some extra warm spiciness (skip the extra topping)
  • Give it a bit of a kick with some brandy or Calvados
  • If you’re brave, or like spicy sweets, go for the cayenne
  • Top the bread with bourbon sauce (2 T bourbon, 1/4 C sugar, 2 T butter, heated in a small pan) instead of the cinnamon/sugar.

Tools for Small Batch Cinnamon Sugar Apple Bread

Wilton Mini Loaf Pan

I’m having a grand time with these mini loaf pans. They allow me to make “half-size recipes” without a lot of leftovers. And I don’t have to worry about having bread or cake going stale before I can finish it.  Just take a recipe for a single loaf of bread, divide the dough in half, and you have two mini-breads.  Perfect!

More Fruit Dessert Recipes

cinnamon sugar bananasCinnamon Sugar Bananas with Brandy

A five-minute dessert that’s a real treat. Think streamlined Bananas Foster.  Great alone, or topped with ice cream.

 

easy one serving apple crisp recipeEasy One Serving Apple Crisp Recipe

You only need a single bowl to make this simple apple crisp.  It’s warm, spicy, sweet, and made with oatmeal. That makes it healthy. Right?

 

chocolate banana breadMini Chocolate Banana Bread

Plain banana bread is good. This is even better. It’s packed with rich, chocolatey goodness that takes ordinary banana bread to the next level.  Or, go all out and add chips too.

 

caramelized pineapple chunksCaramelized Pineapple Chunks for One Person

Cooking pineapple deepens the flavor and brings out the sweetness. Add chopped nuts for crunch. Dessert in minutes.

 




Peach Crumble Recipe for One

The peaches are particularly good this summer, so I’ve been buying them like a crazy woman. They’re so good, even my dad (who didn’t like peaches) was gobbling them down. Then, of course, I have to figure out what to do with them all! Some get eaten fresh (with lots of napkins). A few more went for chicken with peaches and basil. The rest get turned into this peach crumble recipe.

Traditionally, the difference between cobbler, crumble, and crisp was the topping.  Fruit cobblers had a biscuity topping (using an egg).  To make a crumble, you topped it with a butter and flour mixture (think coffee cake).  A fruit crisp topping had oats.  Now, it’s all mixed up and also seems to depend on what part of the country you live in.

Whatever you call it, peach crumble is easy to make. Just mix the peach base in one bowl and the crumble topping in another.  Since it’s a small portion, you don’t even have to pull out the mixer.




Substitutions and Variations for Peach Crumble

  • Use half peaches and half blueberries
  • Try nectarines or plums
  • Go back to the future and use apples (add a pinch of nutmeg)

Tools and Ingredients for Peach Crumble

HIC Porcelain Square Baking Dish 6.5- by 6.5- by 1-inch

Perfect for peach crumble, a small batch of brownies, or apple crisp. It’s heavy, well-made, and dishwasher-safe too. If you have extra crumble, you can heat it in the microwave right in the dish.

More Fruit Dessert Recipes for One

easy one serving apple crisp recipeEasy One Serving Apple Crisp Recipe

Just enough for one, with a crumbly sweet oatmeal mixture folded in (that makes it healthy, right?)

 

pear dessert crepePear Crepe Recipe for One

“Standard” crepes are hard. This isn’t. It’s not really a crepe at all. Still works, tastes great, and it’s easy!

 

cinnamon sugar bananasCinnamon Sugar Bananas with Brandy

Speaking of easy, if you have five minutes, you can make yourself a dessert. The splash of brandy (or rum) makes it elegant (even though you only need a few minutes to make it).

caramelized pineapple chunksCaramelized Pineapple Chunks for One Person

This can be fresh or canned (doesn’t matter).  Ready in minutes, just heat the pineapple slightly, add a little sugar, and sprinkle with chopped nuts.

 




One Ingredient Juice Popsicles

It doesn’t get any simpler than this. These one ingredient juice popsicles are refreshing, delicious and the perfect treat on a hot, hot summer’s day!

When I was a kid, my mom used to make us juice pops during the summer. She had some plastic molds with removable tops. You just pour in the juice, put the top on, wait a few hours, and voilà, a healthy, refreshing, frozen snack.

They were a big hit with the neighborhood kids too (who probably had no idea they were eating something good for them).

When I saw juice pops in the store as an adult, I initially got excited. Then I looked at the ingredients: water, high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, potassium lord knows what.

Yech.

Simple, Easy One Ingredient Juice Popsicles

All you really need to make delicious juice pops is juice (and popsicle molds). That’s it. I’m putting this under dessert because it’s sweet, but really you can eat it any time you like.

I’ve used cranberry grape juice to make my juice pops, but any juice will do: grape, orange, pineapple. Sometimes mom would mix the flavors to make orange pineapple, or apple grape. There are far more options now, so you could make them with strawberry orange banana juice if you like.

If you want to get fancy, add a few slices of fruit to your juice popsicles.




Just pick your favorite juice flavor and start freezing!

Tools and Ingredients for Juice Pops

I have this set, but I don’t recommend it. It’s too hard to get one pop at a time! For better (or worse) they haven’t cracked or broken, so I can’t bring myself to replace them. I recommend you try the molds below instead.

 

Tovolo Groovy Popsicle Molds

This is the closest thing I can find to the molds mom had when I was a kid. Hers were plain, clear plastic, but these have grooves and pretty colors. Plus, unlike the set I currently have, it’s easy to get one pop at a time. Fill the molds, pop the top on and freeze. The waiting is the hardest part!

Zuko Quick Juice Pop Maker

If you really want to get fancy, try out this juice pop maker. Freeze the pop maker ahead of time, then add the ingredients, and you’ll get tasty pops in just 7 minutes. It doesn’t even need electricity.

Note that this will only work with sugar-sweetened pops (not sugar-free or artificial sweeteners)

 

More Dessert Recipes

strawberry banana yogurt popsicles plateStrawberry Banana Yogurt Popsicles

With a little more effort, and a few extra ingredients, you can make these refreshing strawberry banana popsicles.  Just the thing for a hot summer day.

 

frozen mango yogurt dessertFrozen Mango Yogurt Dessert Recipe Without an Ice Cream Machine

A cool, refreshing sweet treat that requires no special equipment to make.

 

banana smoothie for one

Banana Smoothie Recipe for One

An easy, quick snack when you don’t have time for a real meal. Or, have it with a salad for a light lunch.

 

cinnamon sugar bananasCinnamon Sugar Bananas with Brandy

An elegant dessert that only takes a few minutes to whip up.  Serve plain, sprinkle with chopped nuts, or go all out and top it with ice cream.