Chocolate-Raspberry Pops

I know it's hard to believe, but I'm a little tired of fresh raspberries. I've had several pints of them in the past three weeks. I decided heat wave meant I should make popsicles, which always brings a little wave of nostalgia.

I remember making all sorts of popsicles and Jell-o pudding pops with my mom in the summers. We'd freeze lemonade, chocolate pudding, vanilla pudding with berries, creamsicles--I think one time she even made tofu-carob pops.

Our popsicle molds were made flat, wide popsicles and the stick had finger holes in them so we wouldn't drop them. Basically we had these, but in a more late-70's/early-80's color scheme. You remember that Tupperware, right? Gold, olive, brown and orange. We had the plates and cups to match. And red and black shag carpeting. We were quite chic.

My mom with one of my nieces, who she makes homemade treats with just like she did with us.
Although I think she has even more patience for her grandkids...

I have really fond memories of both making and eating those popsicles. Making popsicles just reminds me of summer. And of how awesome my mom was (and still is). She, as I remember it, had infinite patience in the kitchen when letting us help out. Egg shells in the cake batter? She knew how to get them out. Flour all over the kitchen? That's what brooms and vacuum cleaners are for. Chocolaty fingerprints on the cupboards? Dishrag. She wasn't concerned about mess. She was concerned about spending time with us and creating positive experiences that we would learn from and remember. See? She's pretty great.

These are very simple popsicles, just like the ones I used to make with my mom, but instead of Jell-O pudding, I used plain yogurt. If it hadn't been so hot that turning on the stove seemed like a very bad idea, I probably would have melted some unsweetened chocolate or a couple squares of a dark chocolate bar rather than using the cocoa powder. But really, you put everything in a blender and then the next day you have tasty, healthy-ish popsicles. If you don't have molds, you can make them in paper cups and put sticks in them (you just peal off the paper cup before you eat). Sure, it's not instant gratification like store-bought pops, but you know what's in them. For me they have the added benefit of a bit of nostalgia.

I wanted actually to make a recipe from Perfect Pops, but my local bookstore was sold out (so I took it as a sign, went to DSW and spent the money I would have spent on the book on the summer bag I've been coveting). It worked out OK. Then I made these instead. Basically, I pulled what was best from all of the chocolate-raspberry ice pop recipes I found on the web and made these, the main source though, is listed below. Also worth noting--it's almost impossible to search for a recipe for Chocolate-Raspberry Pops without coming across discussions about how many points there are in Weight Watchers White Chocolate Raspberry Pop. Quite frustrating.

Chocolate-Raspberry Pops
Adapted from here

1 c raspberries
3/4 c whole milk yogurt
3 T agave nectar
1/2 t lime juice
1 1/2 T cocoa powder

Blend all ingredients. If you're not a fan of seeds, you can strain through a fine-meshed strainer. I didn't, because I'm lazy.

Pour into molds. Freeze for at least 6 hours.

If you have molds that are connected (like I do), you can run them all under warm water, remove from the mold and freeze on a baking sheet lined with either parchment or wax paper. After they're completely frozen again, put in freezer bags and eat one by one.

Makes 4 pops.