Maple Alps Roundup: 6 Sweet Treats for Summer Days

It is hard to believe that Summer is here again! It has been another eventful year - a lot of things have happened and changed - and I think that goes for pretty much all of us!

To kick off the Summer season, I thought I might share some the sweet, cold treats we’ve shared before for you to enjoy over the next weeks! It will be a pretty hectic summer for us while we transition to a new state and I take two classes and get ready for a brand new type of school year, but the best thing about these treats is that they’re relatively quick to make and easy to keep in the freezer!

I’ll be releasing some new goodies over the summer, but just in case you forgot about these ones, here you go!

This mango swirl ice cream is delicious and easy to whip up! All you need is a pot and an ice cream maker! Well, and the ingredients, but that’s a given….right?

Chocolate Chai Ice Cream? Yes, please! Also, I just realized that 'chia' and 'chai' are basically the same but just with the last two letters rearranged. Okay. Go make this ice cream already!

Speaking of chia….these chia peach frozen pops are perfect for those days on the porch. Bonus: they're low in sugar and high in fun! Also, they’re highly customizable. Don’t like peaches? Pick a different fruit!

You won't find a tastier vegan Fudgsicle! These frozen chocolate pops are creamy and delicious and you can bet I'll be keeping my freezer stocked with these - they’re my personal favorite actually.

For those days you're feeling a little fancy: try this strawberry cream dream cake! You’ll need to do a bit of planning, but it will be worth it! Again, customizable. Don’t like strawberries? Pick something else!

It’s not summer without a good chocolate cream pie! I love cream pies - especially when I get to enjoy them out on the deck with a good friend. What about you? This one is gluten free, has little sugar, and vegan, so less guilt, right? Maybe. Still tastes great.

Chia Peach Frozen Pops (vegan)

Since moving to Michigan, I've appreciated Summer that much more. It seems that the Winter months drag on and on and on and Spring and Summer bring a breath of fresh air. I find myself physically aching for warm weather near the end of a cold spell and longing for warm evenings on the porch or at the beach.

I need to go outside and embrace my Summer! School will be starting before I know it, and soon the Winter will be back, so I need to get my outdoor time in now. I've been enjoying walking, jogging or riding bikes to the lake and walking along the shore. I also love just laying in the backyard or sitting on the porch - the grass is so soft and the sun makes me so happy!

Before I leave though, I'll give you this recipe to help you stay cool.

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You all know by now that I like chocolate, and while I have made chocolate versions of these frozen pops (ummm, chocolate peanutbutter chia please!!) and even fudgiscles, I decided to share a non-chocolate frozen treat with you today! I got the inspiration from a smoothie, really, and thought that fruit chunks in a popsicle would be a fun idea. Besides, it makes them prettier in my opinion.

Of course, you can use any kind of fruit in your pops. I chose peaches, because peaches. I love peaches. But I could imagine using raspberries or blueberries, or anything, really!

Waiting for these babies to freeze is a true test of patience, but they are well worth the wait!

Chia Peach Frozen Pops

what you need:

1 ¼ cup coconut milk

½ cup soy

¼ cup chia seeds

½ - 1 TBSP cane sugar (depending on how sweet you want it)

Canned or fresh peach (or any other fruit, really!)

what to do:

1. Whisk all ingredients except peaches together in a small bowl

2. Let mixture sit for 15-30 minutes, until it has become thick

3. Spoon a bit of the mixture into each popsicle mold.

4. Add fruit as you wish, alternating between the mixture and the fruit

5. Freeze 6 hours, until frozen.

6. To remove, run mold under hot water for 10-15 seconds and pull out carefully. To store, I wrap the pops in parchment paper (separately) and keep them in a freezer bag. You could also get really fancy and grab these plastic sleeves for frozen treats. 

For these treats you may need:

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What do you like doing in the Summer months?

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Creamy Chocolate Ice Pops (vegan + gluten free fudgsicle copycat)

I remember when I was young, my grandparents owned and operated a convenience store in town. In the summer, they would let us have some treats from the freezer and I would always choose a chocolate popsicle. No, this was not a Fudgsicle, but rather a chocolate flavoured popsicle. I don't know if any of you have ever had one, but I loved them.

Then, one day, I did try a Fudgsicle, and I loved it. It was creamy and soft and had so much chocolate goodness - not the watery hardness of my former love. 

Trying to come up with replicating this delicious cold treat has proved quite the task, but I took a cue from my Chocolate Cream Pie and came up with something quite tasty!

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Because of the added arrowroot powder, it helped make it much more creamy and gooey, which, in my humble opinion, is the best part about Fudgsicles. It feels just like eating an actual one - the texture is perfect.

I had some issues getting these babies out of the mould, so they aren't the prettiest, but they sure are tasty!

The best thing about making cold treats is how easy it is to mix things up and come up with fun combinations. I added almond flavour to these pops to add a chocolate almond flavour (my fav!), but you can do whatever you want! I notice that I don't really taste the coconut from the coconut milk when I add flavouring, so I like to skip it sometimes and have a more coconut-chocolate flavour.

Creamy Chocolate Ice Pops

What you need:

• 1 cup coconut milk (full fat works best)

• ¾ cup unsweetend soy milk

• ¼ cup cane sugar (or less, depending on how sweet you want it)

• 1 TBSP arrowroot powder

• 1 ½ TBSP cocoa powder

• ½ tsp almond extract (if you don't like almond flavour, skip this ingredient, or substitute with vanilla or something fun!)

What to do:

1. In a saucepan, whisk together all ingredients, constantly stirring until thick to avoid clumps. 

2. Pour into popsicle mold (I use this one from Amazon) and freeze for at least 6 hours, or overnight.

3. To remove, run mold under hot water for 10-15 seconds and pull out carefully. To store, I wrap the pops in parchment paper (separately) and keep them in a freezer bag.

**Note: I like making these in small batches when I want to make other flavours as well. For a full tray, simply double the recipe!

“Staying cool and refreshed is easier now than ever with these tasty vegan fudgsicles!”

TWEET IT!!