Popsicle

This recipe was created for my friend Bill, who told me he couldn’t get his daughter to eat fruit. I asked him what her favorite food was and the response was “ice cream.” (Well, what would you say?) These pops are mostly fruit, with just a little bit of “ice cream” made from low-fat Greek yogurt and sugar substitute. But when the pureed fruit was mixed with it, she couldn’t tell the difference. At just about 60 calories a pop, you can eat these all summer long.

Candy corn may be synonymous with Halloween, but come on, how many of us really love the chewy little tooth-shaped candies with a flavor that is indistinguishable beyond sweet? However, if you borrow their iconic shape and colors and transform those into creamy lemon-and-orange frozen pops, we predict everyone will be clamoring for their fair share.

Because puréed frozen raspberries and yogurt both have thick, creamy textures, you can spoon them into pop molds one after the other for a striking layered effect without taking the time to freeze the layers separately.

If I were hosting a swanky rooftop engagement party on a hot summer evening, I'd make these refreshing, not-too-sweet ice pops. You'll need to let the Prosecco get flat in the refrigerator before making the pops. If you're in a hurry, decant it into a large bowl, and it will turn flat faster. Be sure to use food-safe rose petals that haven't been sprayed with pesticide.

These paletas are quick to make. The only effort is in squeezing the limes, and it’s worth it. Don’t use that bottled stuff or the flavor will suffer. Lime pie isn’t a typical paleta flavor, but the pie itself is popular. I wanted to make it into a paleta, and the result is this creamy, lip-smacking treat.

These paletas may seem very time-consuming, but the sweet and subtle flavor of fresh coconut is well worth the effort. You can prepare the shredded coconut up to a week in advance and refrigerate it in an airtight container. Choose a coconut that feels heavy for its size and inspect the eyes, making sure there’s no liquid around them, as that indicates a rotten coconut. I usually like to buy two just in case one is bad. The worst thing that can happen is that you have extra coconut, which you can store in the freezer or dry in a 250°F oven to make dried shredded coconut.

You’re probably familiar with the little tune that announces the ice cream truck is coming down the street. In Mexico, there’s a specific whistle (admittedly, not at all pleasant) that lets you know a cart with warm sweet potatoes and plantains is on its way. The purveyors wander through the streets pushing carts that steam the sweet potatoes and plantains in their skins. The whistle is the cry of the steam coming out. For this recipe, you can use either bananas or plantains. Either way, roasting heightens their sweetness and gives them a more complex flavor. If you use plantains, be sure to buy ripe ones: they look black on the outside and feel mushy.

If you love rice pudding, you’ll adore these paletas. They have a particularly creamy texture because half of the rice pudding is blended after it’s cooked. Mmmm, I’m salivating just thinking about it! I give you the option of using cinnamon or lime zest with the vanilla because both are common combinations. I couldn’t decide between the two, so I leave it up to you.

Avocado ice cream is fairly common in Mexico, so I decided to make avocado one of the flavors of paletas when I launched my company La Newyorkina (“the girl from New York”) at the Hester Street Fair in New York City’s Lower East Side. I was unsure of how people would receive them, but avocado paletas rapidly became a customer and personal favorite! An avocado ice pop may sound unusual, but it’s very tasty and has a luscious creamy texture without any dairy. The lime juice not only helps keep the paleta green, it also enhances the flavor of the avocados.

This is a childhood favorite reinvented for grown-up tastes. You've got the texture of a Fudgsicle but with the flavor of rich dark chocolate, salty peanuts, and sweet caramel, all combined in a dessert pretty enough to make people think it came out of a professional kitchen. It's important that the Fudgsicle bars soften at room temperature for 5 minutes before serving, otherwise they'll be too hard to cut into. The flavor comes forward when the dessert warms a little. Don't forgo the ice-water bath. You need to cool the custard quickly to keep it from overcooking.

Like the striped pops from the ice cream truck—without the artificial flavors and colors.

The Italian aperitif Campari brings balance to these sweet orange pops.

These Mexican-style pops are loaded with pieces of fresh fruit.

To make these at home, look for ice pop molds with narrow openings for inserting the sticks. They can be found in cookware stores and at amazon.com. The author makes these and other pops for New York-based People's Pops.

The exotic flavors of passion fruit and guava are layered in these pretty ice pops. To create perfectly defined layers, chill the guava mixture while the passion fruit mixture is freezing.