Strawberry Lavender Paletas

Betsy should actually be writing this post.  These Strawberry Lavender Paletas were her idea and creation. I just supervised.

She found these cool little popsicle molds at some store and couldn’t resist them. You see… they have a straw in the handle so as your popsicle melts, you can drink it!

A find like this is hard to pass up.

Paleta is Spanish for ice pop or popsicle, but it’s my experience that they are slightly different.  Paletas are usually heavy on the fruit while popsicles tend to be more water-based.

These are pretty fruit heavy although they do have some sugar so we decided to call them paletas.

Whatever you want to call them, they are really refreshing and perfect for a hot summer day!

Strawberry Lavender Paletas

Fresh Flavors

Our farmer’s market isn’t quite open yet here in Colorado so I wasn’t able to get any super-wonderful strawberries for these Strawberry Lavender Paletas.

The strawberry is THE primary flavor for them so the better strawberries you use, the better your paletas will be.

Besides strawberries, we decided to toss in a spoonful of dried lavender.  This gave the frozen treat an almost floral taste that was really interesting.

It’s an optional step, but if you can find some, try it out.  I was worried about the little lavender buds sinking to the bottom of the paleta as they froze, but they are thick enough to hold the lavender in suspension.

Preparing the Mixture

These Strawberry Lavender Paletas are really simple to make. They take under fifteen minutes to toss together and if you had a bunch of molds you could make a ton in bulk and have them for the whole summer.

Just combine the strawberries, lavender, sugar, water, and a pinch of salt to a pan and start heating it over medium heat.

Once this starts to simmer, let it cook until the sugar is dissolved and the strawberries start to break down.

You shouldn’t cook the mixture for more than five minutes.

Then give the mixture a squeeze of fresh lemon.  This is a very essential ingredient in my opinion.  It brings out all the flavors really nicely.

Let this mixture cool slightly and then give it a quick pulse in a blender or food processor.

Honestly, if you don’t have a blender, you could just lightly mash the mixture and proceed.  Some paletas I’ve seen are very chunky and they are still wonderful.

If you do blend the mixture, don’t over blend it.  You don’t want it to be completely smooth.  It should have some chunks.

Then just pour it in your molds and seal them up!

Depending on the mold, you should get 4-6 paletas out of this recipe and they will take anywhere from 4-6 hours to freeze all the way through.

I just let mine freeze overnight to make sure they are frozen solid.

To remove the paletas from the molds, just run them under hot water for 5-10 seconds and they should pull right out!

These Strawberry Lavender Paletas are slightly sweet, but not overly sweet. The lavender and strawberry combo is pretty awesome and not a flavor combination that I had tried before.

These are a really tasty treat and a great way to beat the heat!

Big shout out to the wife, Betsy, for making these happen in my life.