Best Ice Pop Recipes for Kids

On hot summer days, nothing makes my daughter as happy as a sweet, chilly ice pop-- except, perhaps, an ice pop that she herself has helped to make. One of my favorite ways to bond with my daughter is to spend a summer afternoon making ice pops of all flavors and varieties. After many sessions of blending, pouring, and freezing, my daughter and I have perfected several of our own recipes for relaxing on a hot day. Here are five of our favorites.

Orange Creamsicles

We started by mixing equal parts half-and-half and orange juice concentrate to create this timeless classic, but found several ways to make creamsicles even better. Our current favorite involves using two cups of heavy whipping cream, two cups of frozen orange juice concentrate, one teaspoon of vanilla extract, two egg yolks, and five tablespoons of sugar. This blend is absolutely decadent after we freeze it into sherbetty pops.

Banana Pudding Pops

Way easier than they sound, banana pudding pops are as fun to make as they are delicious. My daughter and I always start with a pre-made banana pudding. We prefer the Kozy Shack brand. We put two cups of the pudding in a blender with one banana and a handful of vanilla wafers. The resulting dessert is delightful, and kids tend to have a lot of fun helping to create it.

S'moresicle

Most of my early s'moresicle recipes failed, but, once I came up with this one, I've never looked back. We start this one by combining ten jumbo marshmallows, a half-cup of chocolate chips, and two cups of vanilla ice cream in a blender. After the mixture is well-blended, we freeze them in ice pop molds overnight. The next morning, we take them out, cover them in bits of graham cracker, and re-freeze them on a sheet of aluminum foil. This frozen dessert is perfect for back yard camping.

Tea-sicles

There are as many options for tea-based ice bars as there are teas. When my daughter isn't feeling well, I'll sometimes brew a medicinal tea, add a fairly significant amount of sugar, and then freeze it for a few hours. The cold sensation is soothing for a fever or an upset tummy, and many children prefer ice bars over hot herbal teas. You don't just have to use medicinal teas, though. My personal favorite tea-sicle is sweetened black tea with lemon, which tastes exactly like July in Alabama. Green tea, white tea and oolong are also great ice bar flavors.

Citrus Pops

Frozen orange juice, limeade and lemonade are overdone-- but they're delicious when you combine multiple flavors together. To make these, I use fruit juice concentrates mixed with half the recommended amount of water-- this keeps them from being overwhelmingly sweet, but not as watery and bland as fruit bars made from ordinary juice. Combine lime and tangerine for a refreshing summery flavor, or lemonade and limeade for that classic citrus taste.

I'm happy to be able to make memories with my daughter by mixing and pouring our favorite flavors to make delicious treats. Homemade ice pops are very easy to make and provide an enjoyable snack and a fun activity for a long summer day. What are your favorite ice pop recipes to share with your children?