I’ve never seen a traditional ice cream man in our neighborhood.

What we have are little men on bikes with built in coolers attached to the front. They are filled with Mexican ice pops. Sure, sometimes they have bomb-pops, or push-ups, and even ice cream sandwiches – just like we remember from the ice cream trucks of our childhoods – but what I go for………are the paletas.

“What are paletas?” You may ask.

Mexican ice pops.

“You mean like popsicles?”

No, not even close. Popsicles are just frozen sugar-water. Paletas are so much more; usually fruit, sometimes sour cream, or cream….

“Like ice cream?”

No, not like ice cream at all. Paletas have fresh fruit like mangos, or plantains, or tamarind, or guava……or even avocado.

Somewhere between ice cream and popsicles – are paletas.

I grabbed this recipe book at William’s Sonoma a few weeks ago, but y’all can find it here.

There are so many delicious sounding paleta recipes in this book: Roasted Banana, Grapefruit, Mezcal-Orange, Rice Pudding, Coconut, and Sour Cream-Cherry-Tequila

We started with Yogurt and Berries.

First I need to make a simple syrup, with a little bit of lemon zest. Simple syrup keeps the paletas soft enough to bite into.

In a small sauce pan, I mix…..

• 1/2 Cup Water
• 1/2 Cup Sugar

…….on medium heat ’till the sugar has completely melted. Then I add the lemon peel and stir for about 5 minutes untill the liquid has reduced by half.

After the lemon syrup has completely cooled, and the lemon peel has been removed, I mix it with….

• 1 3/4 cups of Greek Yogurt
• 2 Tablespoons of Honey

Any berries will work for these, but I’m using blackberries.

About 2 cups.

The riper, and softer, the better.

I squish about 12 berries and gently mix them into the yogurt mixture….not completely. I just want a slight marbling effect.

Bought the popsicle mold off of Ebay, but I see the same one on Amazon.

To each mold I add a spoonful of yougurt….followed by a few berries, then more yogurt, followed by berries, then more yogurt………ahhh, you get the idea.

The mold should be full, but not over the top of the molds.

Put the top on, insert the sticks, and freeze until they are solid……..Overnight is best.

If the paletas don’t want to come out of the mold, run it under warm water for a few seconds.

Then share them……

Possibly with a niece, or 2, or all 3……

Ahhhh, yeah,

They were kind of a big hit.

Hope everyone had a good Labor day.