DID YOU KNOW? JULY IS NATIONAL ICE CREAM MONTH! TO CELEBRATE, AND TO BEAT THE HEAT, I’LL BE BRINGING YOU RECIPES FOR FROSTY, SWEET TREATS ALL MONTH LONG! FROM POPSICLES WITH AN UNEXPECTED INGREDIENT, TO A frosty little ice cream cake, STICK AROUND CAUSE THIS MONTH’S SURE TO BE TASTY!

In my ever-growing list of recipe ideas, there’s one recipe that has been taunting me for a while. It was a warm weather-appropriate one, so I sort of had to wait until summer temperatures came around, and this popsicle almost has me glad for 100+ degree temps! If a carrot cake and a popsicle had a baby, it would surely be this lovely, refreshing yet strangely cozy carrot cake popsicle. A simple mixture of carrot juice, cream cheese, spices, crushed pineapple, and gingersnap cookie crumbles is pretty much all you’ll need. I know that idea might sound a little strange to you, but trust me, it works bigtime! No need to turn on the stove for these treats — they’ll be ready for you to eat in just a few hours after throwing them together! Get ready for those barbecues and get togethers, cause these popsicles could be the hit of your celebration!

carrot cake popsicles

(makes 10 – 3 oz popsicles; use this mold!)

1/4 c (about 5-6 cookies’ worth) crunchy gingersnap cookie crumbs (optional)
4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 c (233 g) sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
2 c (500 g) bottled 100% carrot juice
1/4 c (78 g) drained crushed pineapple

In the bowl of a food processor, place the cookies. Pulse until they are a mixture of fine and large crumbs. Dump into a bowl and set aside.

In the same food processor bowl, put the softened cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and salt. Process until fully smooth.

Add the carrot juice to the bowl and process until the mixture is totally smooth with no lumps. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and process a bit longer to make sure all the cream cheese mixture is incorporated.

Pour this mixture into a large measuring cup with a pour spout, and stir in the crushed pineapple and gingersnap crumbs.

Grab your popsicle mold and carefully pour the mixture into each empty section of mold. Wipe up any spills around the tops of the molds, and cover with the accompanying lid, or cover tightly with a piece of plastic wrap or foil. Stick popsicle sticks into each mold, leaving about 1 inch above the surface. Carefully place the popsicle mold on a sheet pan or baking dish and set on a flat place in your freezer. Freeze the pops for a minimum of 4 hours, preferably 8 hours or overnight.

To serve, carefully run cool tap water over each mold and, wiggling the sticks while pulling up, remove the popsicles and place into individual bags or back onto a parchment-lined sheet pan in the freezer until sold frozen. Eat immediately for best texture; otherwise, these will keep for a few weeks in the freezer and still be quite tasty.

If you’re a fan of the sweet, earthy, warm flavors of carrot cake but wouldn’t dream of  turning on your oven in the summertime unless absolutely necessary, these popsicles might just become your best friends! Surprisingly, they’re not overly sweet, so they won’t make you feel like you’re chomping on a block of sugar. They’ve got carrot juice in them, so they’ve got to be kinda healthy, right?