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]
These sound so lovely!! Great idea!
OMG!! LOVES IT.. Honeydew mint sounds righteous!!
HA! You’re too cute/funny. I’m sure you’ll do fine. Wish I was going! These pops look amazing.
So frech! Perfect for hot summer!
I am loving these pictures 🙂 the melon balls and mint are so fresh! defo will be trying these!x
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.
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!
GAH, I love the styling here. Work it, little popsicles, werk!
Annnnnd you’ll be totally fine at the conference. Have a killer time!
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.
These sound like some of the most refreshing popsicles ever! I love the idea of adding mint to sweet honeydew melon. 🙂
Awesome flavor combo and AMAZING styling! Your posts just get better and better!
YAAAA for summer… I can’t wait to try these
Hi Cindy! I hope you had a great time in Florida! These pops sound delicious…I need to try them!!. Thanks
Thank you!
Wow! These sound so good! I love this idea!
Gorgeous! You are the queen of popsicles!
haha, thanks Amanada!
Too funny…I wrote an article for Edible with a very similar idea but mine had “bulls-eyes” of frozen cherries!
This looks amazing…can’t wait to try it!!!