Strawberry Margarita Popsicles

Strawberry Margarita Popsicles

Icy, blended margaritas are definitely a good way to cool down on a hot summer evening. They’re flavorful and have a little (grown up!) kick to them. They’re never better than when they’re made with fresh fruit and fresh fruit juice, and this is true of other fruity frozen treats, too. For instance, popsicles definitely taste better when they’re made with real fruit and not just fruit juice concentrates. These Strawberry Margarita Popsicles are made with real fruit – lots of it. They also have that same little kick that you get from a regular margarita in an even cooler package.

The popsicles start withe fresh strawberries, which are pureed until very smooth in a food processor or blender. I added honey to the berry puree for some extra sweetness, as well as a little bit of fresh lime juice. Of course, there is also a generous splash of tequila and triple sec in the mix (which could easily be replaced with more lime juice for a non-alcoholic version) to keep things interesting! The mixture is poured into popsicle molds – I used these Rocket Pop molds – and frozen overnight, then they can be enjoyed as an after dinner treat or even served at a party.

You do get a tequila flavor in these, but they are nowhere near as strong as a “real” cocktail. The honey and the tequila both serve to not only flavor these pops, but to ensure that they are smooth and not overly icy. The tequila slightly lowers the freezing point of the pops so that even though they are frozen solid, they melt easily once you start to eat them. For variety, you could turn these pops into other drinks, using rum for more of a daiquiri flavor or changing the lime juice for orange juice for a strawberry orange base.

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Bites from other Blogs

  • Strawberry season is here for the summer and there are lots of ways to put those juicy berries to good use. One way is in Tide and Thyme‘s Strawberry Yogurt Cake. This moist bundt cake is packed with bright, red berries that give each slice a very summery look. It is flavored with a bit of lemon and  vanilla, which compliment the strawberries nicely. It is a rich and satisfying cake, made with butter, yogurt and buttermilk, and would make a good base for other berry cakes, as well.
  • The Creme Brulee Donuts that I Am A Food Blog look completely irresistible. The classic french custard dessert is reimagined in a bite sized ball of fried dough – and that is a good thing. These little round donuts are made with a yeast dough and are deep fried until golden. Each one is stuffed with vanilla pastry cream and topped with a little bit of glaze and sugar, which is caramelized to give the donuts the look and flavor of a well-prepared creme brulee.
  • Ibarra chocolate is a brand of Mexican table chocolate, which is made with coarse sugar and cinnamon, and comes in tablets that are meant to be used for cooking or making hot chocolate. The tablets can be used for all kinds of recipes and infuse a great flavor into a dish, such as the Mexican Chili Fudge from Macheesmo. The fudge uses Ibarra chocolate and semisweet chocolate as its base, to give the fudge a strong chocolate flavor, and is flavored with a generous pinch of cayenne to add some heat to the spice already found in the Mexican chocolate.
  • Peanut butter pie is a very decadent dessert that is loved by many – but it is so rich that sometimes you might not want to make a whole pie for yourself. A solution is to make up a batch of Peanut Butter Pie Shooters, instead. A Pinch of Yum made these delightful mini-desserts for a baby shower recently. The shooters pack in a satisfying portion of creamy peanut butter pie filling on top of an Oreo cookie crumb “crust” in small, elegant glasses. They’re beautiful to look at and are a great way to dress up a homey cream pie for a party – or break a whole pie down into smaller servings for regular events.

Chef’n Stem Gem, reviewed

Chef'n Stem Gem

The hull is the leafy stem of the strawberry and the small part of the fruit that it is attached to. This part of the berry always needs to be removed before cooking with them, or chopping them up for a salad or other dish, and there are several ways to go about it. You can simply chop off the whole top of the berry, or you can use a small paring knife to cut out the hull. I usually use the paring knife method, but was tempted into trying out the Chef’n Stem Gem on a recent trip to the kitchen store.

The Chef’n Stem Gem is a neat little strawberry huller that looks like a berry and promises to make very short work of the strawberry hulling process.  You simply push the button on top to open the stainless steel claw at the base. Press the claw into the berry, around the hull, then release the button and twist the gadget to remove. The claw doesn’t have sharp edges, just uses pressure and good design to cut through the berry. This little gadget also works well with tomatoes, easily removing the stem and “hull” of those fruits, so it’ll multitask every time you want to make gazpacho or salsa.

It works very well and is very efficient. I never had to go back to a berry to get anything it might have missed and it never gets too much “good” berry as it hulls. It might be a fraction slower than my paring knife (if I’m working very fast), but the difference is not noticeable and this is much easier to use. I’m definitely glad I gave in and picked one up because it’ll get a lot of use in my kitchen this strawberry (and tomato) season!

Chef'n Stem Gem

Nordicware Summer Series 3D Cookie Cutters

Summer 3D Cookies

Cookies are associated more strongly with fall and winter – thanks to the Christmas holiday where cookies are an absolute staple – than they are with summertime. This is a shame because the summer can be a fine time to bake cookies. The days are longer, so we usually feel like we have a little extra free time and, if you have kids around, you can get some extra helping hands to shape and decorate them. Nordicware’s  Summer Series 3D Cookie Cutters is a summer themed cookie cutter set that allows you to make three dimensional cookies that can stand up on their own. The set makes six different shapes with twelve cookie cutters, and the shapes include a boat, a dolphin, an airplane, a unicorn, a dinosaur and a teddy bear. The first three tie in to a summer, travel-theme, while I will admit that the latter three aren’t as obviously summery. They are, however, very cute and because the dinosaur is my favorite cutter from the set I’m willing to overlook the fact that not all of these are beach themed.

The cookie cutters come with a cookie dough and icing recipe that works well with them. If you are going to use a different recipe, choose one that doesn’t spread very much during baking (such as a stiff butter cookie dough, rather than peanut butter or chocolate chip cookie dough) because you need the cut outs to hold their shape, or you won’t be able to fit them together. The cookies are generously sized (4-5 inches) and there is a lot of surface area to decorate, which is fun for kids and adults – and not a bad way to spend a warm summer evening at home.

Two Tone Coffee Biscotti

Two Tone Coffee Biscotti

I was always a fan of the Caramel Macciato Biscotti from Starbucks. They were inexpensive (less than $1) and made a great snack with a cup of coffee. I also really liked their unusual two-tone look. These cookies were recently discontinued by the coffee company in favor of some more traditional looking biscotti, so I decided make up a batch of two tone biscotti myself as a nod to them – and so I could have some freshly baked biscotti with my coffee at home!

These biscotti have two layers, one coffee flavored and one vanilla flavored. To get the two layered effect in my biscotti, I made up one big batch of dough and added a homemade coffee extract to a portion of the dough. The coffee extract is made by dissolving a generous amount of instant coffee/espresso powder in hot water, to make a very concentrated and flavorful brew that is strong enough to flavor the dough. I layered the vanilla dough on top of the coffee layer and the two baked together beautifully.

You can really taste both the vanilla and the coffee layers in the finished biscotti. These biscotti are very crunchy and are perfect for dipping in coffee, as they don’t break up too fast when they hit the hot liquid. I like a slightly thicker cookie that will soak up a lot of coffee, but you can cut these into thinner cookie crisps when slicing your dough if you prefer a more delicate cookie. The biscotti from Starbucks that inspired these have a caramel flavored coating that they are dipped in. I opted to leave these cookies plain, but they could easily be dipped in chocolate to add yet another layer of flavor to these already layered treats.

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