Oregon Transplant: 4th of July Pops

Friday, July 4, 2014

4th of July Pops

Happy 4th of July!

I made these popsicles just for fun. They aren't the healthy variety that I usually put up on the blog, these are strictly colored, flavored sugar water. Who says you have to be healthy all the time? Definitely not on holidays where you just wanna have fun! :)

These are yummy! They might look like Rocket Pops, or some other form of red, white, and blue popsicle, but they taste unique. For the blue layer, I added blue food color and raspberry extract to my sugar water. I think the blue was my favorite color. The "white" later is actually just sprite. Frozen sprite turns the perfect color. And for the red, I added red food color and strawberry extract. Maybe it was my excitement over making such a pretty popsicle, but I thought these were pretty phenomenal.

What are your plans for the holiday? The hubby (who miraculously has the day off!) and I are headed out to his sister's house for a family barbecue. I'm excited! Grilling outside all day, sunny weather, and plenty of fireworks. I'm ready!

The 4th is one of my favorite holidays. I can remember, as a child, it being a family holiday. Usually going to a county fair with my parents and brother, and then watching the town fireworks from somewhere. Sometimes we'd go to a park to watch fireworks, sometimes we'd stay home and watch the firework shows from our deck. I think I was a junior in high school when I started spending the holiday with my friends instead of my family. I can vividly remember one 4th that my high school best friend and I spent driving around Salem (Oregon's capital that was about 30 minutes from where I grew up). Not much happened that night, but it's still one of my favorite memories :) Another favorite 4th memory of mine was the holiday my mom and I spent in Davis, California at a volleyball tournament. There were some spectacular fireworks that holiday!

But I digress. Back to these popsicles! One might think I made these treats for the family barbecue. Alas, most of these pops are gone. LOL. They're addictive! I did, however, make S'mores Cookie Sandwiches and fresh salsa to take to the barbecue. I'm not going completely empty handed! I got these cute 4th napkins at the Dollar Store which I think I'm going to bring out as well...

The beads on the other hand? Going to my niece :)

Have a wonderful, and SAFE holiday friends!

Ingredients (makes 8 popsicles):

2 cups sugar water

red and blue food color

Raspberry Extract

Strawberry Extract

1 cup Sprite

Directions:

1. Start with the blue layer. Take 1 cup sugar water and combine it with 1 tsp raspberry extract and 3-4 drops of blue food color. Divide among popsicle molds. Place in freezer, and freeze for about 4 hours, or until solid.

2. Complete white layer- divide Sprite among molds. Place in freezer for 20 minutes. Remove from freezer and insert wood popsicle sticks into molds. Place back in freezer for 4 hours.

3. Complete red layer. Take remaining 1 cup sugar water and combine it with 1 tsp strawberry extract and 3-4 drops of red food color. Divide among popsicle molds. Place in freezer, and freeze for another 4 hours or until fully frozen.

4. Run molds under a little warm water to break popsicles from mold. These pops don't need much help springing from their molds, a little water should do the trick. Once pops are free, store in a ziploc bag in the freezer.

Printable Recipe