Minty Pea Pops
By Jennifer Carden
Veggies for dessert!? Just tell them it tastes like mint-chocolate chip ice cream, but they are not quite ice cream and not quite vegetable. These are now a staple in our house. A great dessert, snack, or treat on a hot day. I just love it when a kid asks for a Pea Pop!
Makes 6 cube-shaped pops
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1/2 cup frozen petite green peas
- Scant 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1/8 to 1/4 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips
- 6 Popsicle sticks or wooden craft sticks
Place the cream cheese, peas, and sugar in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for 20-second intervals until the cheese is softened to room temperature.
Using a stick blender or standing blender, puree the ingredients into a smooth paste. Add the extract and mix again, scraping the bowl frequently. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand.
Place the mixture in a large zip-top bag and cut about 1/2 inch off of a bottom corner. Squeeze into a clean ice cube tray or mini muffin tin, place 1 popsicle stick in each, and freeze until solid, about 1 hour. Depending on your freezer, you may have to let them freeze for up to 4 hours. For best results, make and freeze these overnight.
Once the pops are frozen, remove them from the molds by twisting just like ice cubes and seal in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
About Jennifer Carden:
Jennifer is a Chef, food stylist, and mother living in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has worked with some of the best cookbook authors in the business, including Jacques Pepin and Mollie Katzen. She has done live television food styling for Guy Fieri of Guys Big Bite. She has written and developed recipes and menus for restaurants and major food companies nationwide. In addition, Jennifer has contributed recipes to The Healthy Baby Workbook from Chronicle Books. Currently, she serves as a consultant for What's Cooking, a Bay Area cooking school for children and families. Jennifer's innovative ideas and humorous slant on feeding children have led her to develop books and products that help parents to feed their children healthy, quick, uncomplicated food.
For more information, visit www.toddlercafe.com.
