Guys! This weekend I’m heading to sunny Orlando for the Food Blog Forum conference with my good pal, Megan. As a girl that is usually awkward, at best, in social situations involving crowds and small talk, I’m a bit nervous…but! my horoscope for the weekend says that I’ll be inspired by people I admire and I’ll be a social butterfly of sorts, so I’m gonna take that and run with it. Who am I to argue with the cosmos?!
But, let’s get to the matter at hand…ice pops! Tis the season and I have plans to crank them out all spring and summer…maybe into the fall. Watch out!
When I was a kid I always thought cantaloupe was honeydew because it’s more the color of honey — kid brains are so interesting. My kid brain would have loved these pops because they’re a real treat and fruit was the main dessert around our house…as I’m pretty sure my mom is part fruit bat.
I’m a huge fan of mint, but as a child I don’t recall ever having it in any other form than mint-chip ice cream or gum. I’m an adult these days, or so they say, and I LOVE fresh mint — especially with fruit, it’s just such a winner! These ice pops really couldn’t be any easier or more refreshing. They’re cool from the mint (and the freezing, duh), sweet from the honeydew, yet bright from a squeeze of fresh lime. And because I can’t help myself, I know that these would be excellent with a little booze mixed in (I love the idea of herbal gin or straight-up vodka). With or without booze, these ice pops are super refreshing, dead-simple, and sure to impress.
[/donotprint] [recipe]
Honeydew Mint Ice Pops
Makes 10 ice pops.
Instead of pulsing the sugar and mint in a processor, you can just chop the mint and rub it into the sugar until fragrant. I made a REALLY minty syrup ’cause I like that, you can use half the amount for a more subtle flavor. Depending on how sweet your melon is, you may not need to use all of the mint syrup — taste the melon and add whatever amount of syrup you prefer. If you aren’t a fan of honeydew, use whatever melon you’d like, cantaloupe or watermelon would be excellent!
1/2 cup sugar
1 loosely packed cup of mint leaves
1/2 cup water
4 cups diced honey dew
juice of 1 lime
In a mini food processor, pulse the sugar and the mint leaves until the mint is finely chopped and the sugar is fragrant. Place the mint sugar into a saucepan with the water and bring to a boil to dissolve. Boil the syrup for 60 seconds, remove from heat, and strain through a fine mesh sieve.
Place the honeydew in a large bowl (or a blender, you may want to do this in batches if using a blender), along with the lime juice and mint syrup. Pulse with an immersion blender until smooth and no chunks of honeydew remain. Divide the mixture between popsicle molds, freeze 30-60 minutes, insert sticks, and continue to freeze until solid (8 hours is best). [/recipe]
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar
These sound so lovely!! Great idea!
Erika
OMG!! LOVES IT.. Honeydew mint sounds righteous!!
Adrianna from A Cozy Kitchen
HA! You’re too cute/funny. I’m sure you’ll do fine. Wish I was going! These pops look amazing.
Elen
So frech! Perfect for hot summer!
Holly
I am loving these pictures 🙂 the melon balls and mint are so fresh! defo will be trying these!x
Megan
I love these popped on top of melon balls! Truly lovely, girl!
And it’s going to be such a fun weekend! We are going to swim up to every bar.
Stephanie @ Girl Versus Dough
Mmmm, these sound so refreshing and delicious. And my first thought definitely was “I want to add booze to them” 🙂 Have a great weekend in Orlando!
Danguole
GAH, I love the styling here. Work it, little popsicles, werk!
Annnnnd you’ll be totally fine at the conference. Have a killer time!
Michelle
These look and sound terrific. Watermelon would be my preference, with mint and vodka. I’m not waiting for a hot summer day. Thanks for sharing.
Eileen
These sound like some of the most refreshing popsicles ever! I love the idea of adding mint to sweet honeydew melon. 🙂
Anna @ The Littlest Anchovy
Awesome flavor combo and AMAZING styling! Your posts just get better and better!
Tracy | Peanut Butter and Onion
YAAAA for summer… I can’t wait to try these
ana
Hi Cindy! I hope you had a great time in Florida! These pops sound delicious…I need to try them!!. Thanks
cindy
Thank you!
Tieghan
Wow! These sound so good! I love this idea!
Amanda @ Once Upon a Recipe
Gorgeous! You are the queen of popsicles!
cindy
haha, thanks Amanada!
chefjen
Too funny…I wrote an article for Edible with a very similar idea but mine had “bulls-eyes” of frozen cherries!
The Detroit Foodie
This looks amazing…can’t wait to try it!!!