24th Day of Christmas: Apple Cider Popsicles!

[sireesanwar]

Happy Christmas Eve! Okay so here is a heads up. At our family gathering, in the country, the wood stove is going and it can get so HOT! I love my wood stove because it is a deeper heat and it soaks into you but sometimes it is just so warm in the house. And at our extended family gatherings we often have ice cream mainly because we also celebrate birthdays at the same time, holiday or no, so cake and ice cream... always. But I find I like this idea so much better especially over the peppermint or egg nog ice cream. Oh we tried the Pumpkin Pie ice cream and it is still in the big freezer outside. Ick.

I've always loved making popsicles but never once thought of an apple cider one! Brilliant.

What You Need:
Apple Cider
Popsicle molds or dixie cups and popsicle sticks (AMAZON)

Found Recipe
4 cups apple juice
½ cup water
½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
2 whole cloves
4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

I was skeptical about all the flavoring but I have a feeling it is all to make it have good flavor. See when we freeze things they tend to have less flavor because of all the ice. So vamping up the flavor will make it yummy. LeAndra over at Love & Flour said the Rosemary isn't as strange as you might think.


Mix It Up

1. Combine the apple juice, water, sugar, rosemary, cinnamon stick, and cloves in a saucepan.
2. Bring the mixture to boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
3. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until the mixture is reduced to 3½ cups, about 25 minutes. Strain into a large bowl or 4-cup measuring cup and cool to room temperature.
4. Stir in the vinegar and vanilla.
5. Pour into popsicle molds, insert sticks, and freeze.

I would assume if you use the previous recipe from the Apple Cider Floats that you could just pour your results into a popsicle mold and see how that comes out.



It actually matters very little what mold you have because they always come out cute. And if you have trouble getting them out of the mold just run a little hot water over the mold and it will pull away in no time.



You can find some lovely molds that make the popsicles looke professional if you are so inclined.



We have monster pops so they are different and look really silly when you are eating them which I love. You'd think I have children and I suppose when the nieces were around, and I helped with them, I did kind of have kids but not really. Just a kid at heart.



And you could always use an ice cube tray though I was thinking without the toothpicks so you could drop the cubes into some Martinelli's or some cold cider.