Whiteley Creek Homestead

My daughter Jessica gave me this popsicle mold a few years back. She got it from Williams-Sonoma, however I checked their site and it is not available there. The box states "developed exclusively for Williams-Sonoma © 2001." I did find one on Amazon that looks like mine except it makes 10 popsicles instead of 8. There is no photo of the box it's stored in, so I don't know if you'll get the adorable vintage-looking one that I have. I fell in love with the box's retro look even before discovering the perfectly functional mold inside. It looks like I have had it since the 1950s at least.

In my latest issue of Body and Soul Magazine (March 2010), contributing food editor Sarah Carey shared a recipe for Banana Berry Popsicles in a "Power Snacks" feature. The recipe called for four simple ingredients… all ones I had on hand, so I got busy. 

What a pretty color… I will make them again with one substitution. Instead of buttermilk, I will try plain yogurt for two reasons. There was an annoying crunch of ice crystals that would be eliminated, I think, if yogurt was used instead. The second reason for using yogurt is that I generally have homemade yogurt in my fridge or processing in my yogurt maker on the counter. 

Banana Berry Popsicles

Puree 1 ½ cups buttermilk (or try plain yogurt), 1 banana, 1 ½ cups fresh or one-10 oz bag frozen berries, and ¼ cup honey in a blender until smooth. Pour mixture into popsicle molds and freeze. To unmold, I found that holding your hand around a mold for a minute or so will coax the contents to release. Makes 10 pops. (My mold makes 8, so we drank the remainder like a smoothie.)  

To assist you in overcoming minor issues that you may encounter… sticks that float to the side, difficulty pulling the lid off the sticks post freezing, difficulty removing the popsicle from the mold, and difficulty replacing the metal lid after removing popsicle(s), this is what I did. First, when filling the molds, leave 1/2 inch space at the top to allow for expansion. Place the metal lid on top, then insert the sticks leaving 2 inches exposed to create a handle. If the sticks float to the side, then do this. (I didn't need to do this.) Before inserting sticks in molds, cover with the lid and freeze until slushy for about an hour. Insert the sticks and make sure they are standing upright, not at an angle, which will make the lid easier to remove when the pops are frozen. To unmold, instead of running warm water over the molds or submerging them in water, I wrapped my hand around a single mold for a minute or so to warm it slightly. There is a small bit of suction and out it comes. Replacing the metal lid is somewhat tricky, but not a huge event. If the sticks are inserted so they stand vertically, it alleviates virtually all frustration. Also, once the popsicles are frozen, it isn't necessary to replace the metal lid, so just leave it off if you like.