Lemon Popsicles

My little man, double-fisting his popsicle treat.  See the blue popsicle stick?  That was the last one poured from the batch; not enough mixture creates a short baby pop.  I call it the runt of the litter. He didn't mind.

Clearly I'm on a homemade popsicle kick. The strawberry ice pops were a big hit in our house, so I've been refilling our popsicle molds with all sorts of fruit concoctions ever since. My rhubarb vanilla popsicle experiment turned out ok. The strawberry banana yogurt popsicles were pretty good. The standard oj with melty vanilla ice cream always works.  But I'll admit, these lemon ones are my favorites so far this year.

Just about every spring, my snowbirding in-laws bring back freshly squeezed lemon juice for me from Arizona, frozen into cubes. It's a precious gift that lasts me all year, serving as my lemon source whenever a recipe calls for it or when I splurge and use a bunch for homemade lemonade. To make these, I simply pulled some of that lemony Arizona sunshine from the freezer, made a quick simple syrup, and ta-da! Lovely lemon pops. Kid approved. Mom approved. 

Lemon Popsicles  

Taste the mixture before freezing, but just remember it should be a little sweeter than you'd like your popsicles to be. Freezing reduces the sweetness. You could try using frozen lemonade concentrate too.  Adjust as needed. 

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. water

1/2 c. lemon juice (or more/less to taste)

Make a simple syrup by combining the sugar and water in a small saucepan.  Bring to a simmer to dissolve the sugar, then remove from heat and cool.  Once cool, stir in lemon juice, pour into popsicle molds, and freeze.