Pineapple Strawberry Cream Pops

This time of year I tend to have strawberries on the brain. Seems like I wait so long for Winter to finally make way for Spring... and then I find myself staring longingly at the strawberry patch across the street. 

My son is the first to find a ripe berry every year. This year it was a little earlier than expected. To be honest, I hadn't even had a chance to devote time to recipe searches using Strawberries! I usually go into the local strawberry season with a game plan. This year I am rather flying by the seat of my pants.

So our first strawberry recipe of the year was... frozen pops. 

Okay, not so glamorous or exciting, and yet they were the perfect use of these sun-ripened berries. We added a bit of sunshine to the recipe (i.e. pineapple) and a little creamy coconut yogurt and these simple little beauties were born... and promptly devoured by my kids.

I know strawberry season varies across the country, but I hope you will give these Pineapple Strawberry Cream Pops a try. They are a delicious and easy way to make a hot day a little cooler.

Why dairy free cultured yogurt? I have some dairy free kiddos and they really enjoy the So Delicious brand. It works really well in a smoothie or frozen treat like these.

This recipe works really well with the new popsicle mold I bought. The top lifts off and over the popsicle sticks, which allows for some fun layering and angle opportunities with popsicles.  Really, frozen juices and fruit can be creative, too!

Now I am just going to need a whole lot of those wooden popsicle sticks to get me through Summer!

Pineapple Strawberry Cream Pops

You Will Need:

• 3 c. fresh strawberries + a few berries to slice
• 12 oz. pineapple juice
• 1- 6oz. Vanilla Coconut Milk Yogurt

Start by slicing a few berries and putting those pieces into the bottom of your popsicle forms. Evenly divide 6 ounces of pinapple juice between the pops. It will be just enough juice to fill the tip of each. Place your sticks into the pops and place in the freezer for at least an hour till semi-firm.

At the end of an hour, place the remaining strawberries, 6 ounces of pinapple juice and the vanilla coconut milk yogurt into a blender and puree. 

Carefully remove your popsicles from the freezer. Remove the lid carefully (it should slide right over the sticks) and fill pops with the strawberry/yogurt mixture. Put the lid back on, carefully putting all the sticks back into place. Freeze till firm.

To serve, run the bottom of the form under warm water for a few seconds until the pops release easily. Enjoy!

My kids couldn't decided which part they liked better.... the pineapple juice with chunks of frozen strawberry, or the creamy strawberry, pineapple yogurt bottom. I thought both hit the spot this past weeknd.

I hope you will enjoy this fun recipe with your own family!