I love hot weather. I love hot weather food. A heat wave is the perfect excuse to subsist on cold smoothies, fruit, nice cream, and plenty of popsicles. Ok, and maybe a fresh salad or two. These Cherry Tahini popsicles are grown-up popsicles. Sophisticated flavors, a drizzle of dark chocolate, and a sprinkle of coconut shreds takes these into the gourmet category of frozen treats.

Don’t tell my daughter, though, because she thought these were just right for a three year old, even though I made her favorite strawberry banana smoothie pops. We’ve already discussed how my food always looks better though, right? Even if we are eating the same thing.

I love that these dairy free pops are subtly sweetened with just a little maple syrup, as the homemade coconut milk is naturally sweet, not to mention ultra creamy. The tahini adds an exotic touch, and if you remember my cherry-coconut-tahini cacao energry balls, then you already know I love this combination of flavors. By the way, if you’re not a big tahini fan, don’t fret, these are delicious without the tahini as well! These pops are a breeze to throw together and so much healthier than anything you’ll find at the grocery store.

Cherry Tahini Coconut Popsicles with Chocolate Drizzle

makes 4-6

• 1 cup homemade coconut milk (see notes) or use “lite” or full fat canned coconut milk
• 2 tbsp of tahini (or more, according to taste, or you can leave it out)
• 1 small frozen banana
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• Tiny pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• optional: 1-2 tsp vodka (obviously leave out if you have little ones who might be snatching your popsicle! This helps reduce ice crystals and helps increase the creaminess)
• 15 ripe sweet cherries, pitted

chocolate sauce:

• 1 tsp cocoa + 1 tsp maple syrup + 1 tbsp melted coconut oil

Shredded, unsweetened coconut for topping

Instructions:

1. Blend the first 6 ingredients (and optional vodka) in your blender. In a mini food processor, process the cherries until they are finely chopped. Or you can chop by hand. Fill your popsicle molds 2/3-3/4 full then carefully spoon in the cherries. Add popsicle sticks. Freeze for a few hours or until firm.
2. Remove the popsicles from the mold. I usually run hot water over them and wiggle them out. Lay out on parchment paper and drizzle the chocolate sauce over them and sprinkle with coconut. The chocolate will harden on contact. Store in the freezer in a lidded container. I usually let mine thaw for a few minutes after taking them out of the freezer to eat.

Notes:

To make my own easy homemade coconut milk, I measure out about 1 cup of shredded unsweetened coconut and add it to my blender with 1 cup of hot water (from the kettle). I let it soak for about 15 minutes right in the blender then I add another cup of (cool) filtered water. Blend on high for about 1 minute. Then strain through a fine mesh strainer or nut milk bag. I sometimes add a pinch of organic guar gum (bean gum) as it acts as an emulsifier, and helps keep the fat from separating from the liquid, however it is totally optional. You can increase the water to coconut ratio for a lighter milk, but for an ice cream or popsicle I usually to a 1:2 ratio or maybe 1 cup coconut shreds to 3 cups water at the most.