Strawberry Cheesecake Pops

Who’s in need of a fun, Valentine’s Day-esque, mid-winter treat? That’s right. We are too.

This isn’t the easiest part of winter – with the holidays being over – and the long stretch of icy roads and early sunsets still ahead. Not only that, it’s a virus-laden time of year! To cheer ourselves up, we’ll often go to Target and stock up on fun treats and crafts for those long snow days. Then we had this great idea – Strawberry Cheesecake Pops! What’s not to love? You can find anything you need, quite easily, to make a delicious and Valentine’s Day festive treat for kids. Also, with colds on the rise, this just might be a perfect cold treat. They’re pretty, tasty, and cheerful! So much to love.

Here’s what you need:

YIELDS: 6 Dixie Pops

INGREDIENTS
1 pint strawberries – rinsed and sliced
2 Tablespoons water
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 sugar
2 Tablespoons butter, melted

DIRECTIONS

1.  Add the sliced strawberries and water to a saucepan and heat under medium heat for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally, until the strawberries can easily be broken into smaller pieces.

2.   Transfer to a blender or food processor and purée the cooked strawberries until smooth. Chill for 30 minutes. Clean blender/food processor for Step 3.

3.   Add the softened cream cheese, vanilla, powdered sugar and milk to a blender or food processor.  Purée until the cream cheese mixture is smooth and creamy.

4.   Layer the Dixie cups with the chilled strawberry purée and the cream cheese mixture and ending with another layer of strawberry purée. Top the strawberry layer off about 1/2 inch from the top of the Dixie cups. (This will be filled with the graham cracker layer).

5.   Insert wooden sticks in the middle of the cups and freeze for at least 1 hour.

6.   Add the graham cracker crumbs and sugar to a small bowl and stir.  Drizzle the melted butter on top and mix well.

7.   Remove the Dixie cups from the freezer and spoon the graham cracker mixture into the tops of each Dixie cup, up to the top of each one.  Press the crumbs down firmly and return to the freezer. Freeze overnight or for at least 4 hours.

8.   Before serving gently cut a slit up at the top of each cup and unpeel the cup from the strawberry cheesecake pop.

9.   ENJOY!!

Don’t they look fantastic? It’s a great summer treat for sure, but there’s something about these Strawberry Cheesecake Pops that screams “SNOW DAY” to us. It’s that nice and red color, and the soothing qualities of such a cold treat. Plus, they’re delicious and exciting for kids to help and make.

Next we’re going to try raspberry!