Well I’m happy to say I made it through the process of selling my house, triple downsizing and moving into our new “temporary” home in one piece. As a much deserved reward I decided to take a couple of days (well 3 actually) off work to hang with my daughter around the pool and relax while meeting our new neighbors. I actually think I deserve a grander reward but for now 3 days would have to do.

To add to the theme of our pools-side mini stay-cation I thought it would be fun to make homemade Paletas. And without hesitation I ordered a frozen ice treat mold and of course a recipe book to boost our success with big visions my daughter and I making our way to the pool with a cooler chock full of the best ever frozen treats this side of the Mexican border.

*This is where the needle scratches the vinyl*

The weather forecast decided at the last minute to change from “sunny with a good chance of fun” to “just kidding about the fun it’s going to rain non-stop for days” Our poolside lounge and socializing plans came to a screeching halt but alas, our mold was still on it’s away.

*There was still hope*

Well just as predicted the rain did come and boy did it pour but our mold came too. Delivered on time as promised and unbiased to the unfavorable weather we were having. We had no choice but to get serious about having fun in the kitchen.

And so we did. We made mixtures with honey, yogurt, sugar, lemons and limes. We crumbled cookies, blended fruits and filled the molds. We made some pretty amazing Paletas if I do say so myself. Being a savory girl I am already thinking of ways in which I can create a tasty chipotle pop, something with avocado or a gazpacho-frozen treat incrusted with a lime crystal crush. But for now the standard tried and true sweet treats would have to suffice.  Savory or not these paletas are delicious and I thought I would share the recipes for the three varieties we made, Lime pie, Tri-berry and Very berry. Our Very berry is just a variation of the Tri-berry.

The foundation of what we made came from recipes found in Fany Gerson’s “Paletas”, authentic recipes for Mexican ice pops, shaved ice and aguas frescas. We added our own minor tweaks but the foundation recipes and ingredients are pretty much the same.

Basic Paletas (Mexican ice pops) recipes

Before you get started, here are some tips to help the process of making delicious frozen treats easier.

• Soak sticks in warm water for an hour prior to making to keep them from floating to the top of the pops
• Always squeeze lemons or limes for juice as opposed to using bottled juice. In fact, please never use bottled juice for anything…squeeze your fruits for fresh juice.
• Fresh fruit is always best, if adding whole fruit to your pops half or quarter the pieces of fruit and let the mixture set for 20-40 minutes before adding. If you prefer to marble the mixture then run the fruit in a blender just enough to make it saucy (keeping some of the fruit chunky) and swirl for a marble effect into mixture before freezing.
• When removing pops from your mold pour a little warm water over the lid to help loosen and then let the entire mold sit in warm water for a minute or two before removing each pop.
• Put the pops on a plate and freeze for 10 minutes before individually wrapping.

Paleta de Limon

• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup half-and-half
• ¾ cup freshly squeezed lime juice (4-5 large lemons)
• 2 teaspoons lime zest
• Pinch of salt
• Coarsely crushed chocolate graham crackers

Whisk in a bowl the condensed milk, half-and-half, lime juice, lime zest, and salt until thoroughly combined.

If you are using conventional molds simply divide the mixture in the mold cups, attach the lid, add your sticks and let set in freezer for at least five hours.

Once paletas are frozen coarsely crumble the chocolate graham crackers and spread in a cookie sheet then press each paleta in the crumbs and wrap in plastic sleeves.

Variations
Use regular graham cracker crumbs instead of chocolate or Oreo cookies

Tri-Berry Paletas

• 1 Lemon (only the peel is needed)
• ½ cup water
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 ½ plain unsweetened Greek style yogurt
• 2 TBL honey
• *2 cups fresh berries (we used blackberries, blueberries and raspberries)

Combine water and sugar in saucepan. Cook on medium to high heat until the mixture comes to a boil and the sugar has dissolved. Be sure to stir constantly. Then add the lemon peel and drop the heat to simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and let cool at room temperature. Once the mixture is cool strain through a mesh sieve and then refrigerate until completely chilled.

Add the honey and yogurt into a blender, add the syrup mixture and blend to combine.

Now pour part of the mixture into each mold leaving room for your fruit mixture.

*Fresh fruit is always best, if adding whole fruit to your pops half or quarter the pieces (for berries) and let the mixture set for 20-40 minutes before adding. If you prefer to marble the mixture then run the fruit in a blender (with a little bit of powdered sugar) just enough to make it saucy (keeping some of the fruit chunky) and add to mixture before freezing. Be sure to swirl into the mixture as opposed to mixing it in completely in order to get a marble effect.

Variations
If you want to make our “Very-Berry” Paletas than substitute the plain yogurt with blueberry Greek style yogurt

For a little more zest in your berry Paletas add a tiny bit of fresh squeezed lemon juice to your fruit mixture.

And there you have it! We ate some of ours, gave some away and of course saved some for later. I hope you enjoy these recipes – I’m sure we’ll eventually come up with our own Colorado Paleta concoction and I promise to share if we do because…

I am,
The Urban Mountaineer