Spikesicles give adult twist to frozen treats
Mariena Mercer loved making frozen pops when she was a kid. Today, as chief mixologist for The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, she’s still making them. But these are a little different.
Think of them as frozen cocktails on a stick — spikesicles, if you will, since Popsicle is a trademark and we can’t call them that. At the Neapolitan indoor/outdoor bar at the Boulevard Pool at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, three flavors of the frozen treats are available for $10 each, and all of them are made in-house. Mercer said that as far as she knows, hers is the only property making their own, although a few other places around town sell spiked frozen pops made elsewhere.
The pops were launched with Neapolitan three years ago, Mercer said.
“It’s the first concept that I was aware of, ice cream featuring booze,” she said. “It’s been interesting to see the trend kind of take off around the country in the past year.”
Mercer said the pops were inspired by “kind of a memory that I wanted to preserve.”
“I’m just really inspired by the whimsy of it,” she said. “I love pastry as well, so it’s kind of a natural progression for me. I have a severe sweet tooth, also; the R&D (research and development) is a lot of fun.”
The three flavors are La Bamba, a Modelo beer pop with lime and chile limon pop rock salt; Nuts &Bolts, a pistachio pop with pomegranate seeds, coconut cream and Kai Coconut Pandan Vodka in salted pistachio dust; and She’s My Cherry Pie, with Luxardo Sangue Morlacco cherry liqueur, Giffard orgeat syrup, coconut cream, Morello cherry puree, Luxardo cherries and graham cracker pie crust. The La Bamba is back by popular demand; the other two are new this year.
“They’re all pretty popular,” Mercer said. “I think the most popular this year would be the Nuts &Bolts. It’s a little bit out of the box and a little bit intriguing; it’s my favorite. It’s a lot of different types of nuts, great texture, creamy, a lot of different flavors, very culinary-inspired.”
Mercer’s creations are a little complex, unless you’re used to working with salted pistachio dust. But spiked frozen pops can be concocted in endless variations; just remember how fun she said the R&D is.
Here are 10 recipes to get you started.
SPIKED WATERMELON POPS
½ (3 pounds) large watermelon, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
¼ cup sugar
¾ cup watermelon-flavored 70 proof vodka (recommended: Smirnoff Twist of Watermelon)
½ cup chopped fresh mint leaves
In a blender, combine the watermelon, sugar and vodka. Blend until the mixture is smooth. Add the mint and pulse once to combine. Pour the mixture into 16 ¼-cup ice-pop molds. Insert sticks all the way down the inside the molds. Freeze for at least 10 hours, or preferably overnight.
To unfreeze the ice pops, insert the molds in hot water for 5 to 10 seconds. Serve immediately.
NOTE: For nonalcoholic pops, substitute ¾ cup orange juice for the vodka.
Recipe from Giada de Laurentiis, the Food Network
SWEET TEA JULEP POPS
2 family-size tea bags
1 cup firmly packed fresh mint leaves
1 cup cold water
¾ cup bourbon
½ cup sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
12 (3-oz.) paper cups
12 mint leaves (optional)
12 small lemon slices (optional)
Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a 2-quart saucepan. Remove from heat, add tea bags and stir in the 1 cup mint leaves. Cover and steep 10 minutes. Discard tea bags and mint. Stir in 1 cup cold water, bourbon, sugar and lemon juice, stirring until sugar dissolves. Pour mixture into 12 3-ounce paper cups; add a mint leaf and small lemon slice to each, if desired.
Cover each cup with aluminum foil; make a small slit in center and insert one food-safe wooden ice-cream spoon into each cup. Freeze 8 hours or until firm.
Makes 12.
Recipe from Southern Living
WHITE PEACH SANGRIA POPS
1½ cups dry white wine
1½ cups white grape juice
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
½ cup chopped, unpeeled white peaches
½ cup raspberries
½ cup chopped, peeled kiwi fruit
Combine wine, white grape juice, sugar and fresh lemon juice in a 2-quart measuring cup, stirring until sugar dissolves. Pour mixture into 12 3-ounce paper cups. Stir together peaches, raspberries and kiwi fruit; spoon fruit mixture into cups.
Cover each cup with aluminum foil; make a small slit in center, and insert a food-safe wooden ice-cream spoon into each cup. Freeze 8 hours or until firm.
Makes 12.
Recipe from Southern Living
CHOCOLATE MILK PUNCH POPS
3 cups chocolate milk
½ cup bourbon
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
¾ cup chocolate syrup
Combine chocolate milk, bourbon, sugar, vanilla and nutmeg in a 2-quart measuring cup, stirring until sugar dissolves. Pour half of mixture into 12 3-ounce paper cups; cover and chill remaining half.
Cover each cup with aluminum foil; make a small slit in center, and insert a food-safe wooden ice-cream spoon into each cup. Freeze 4 hours or until firm.
Carefully remove foil from cups. Pour 1 tablespoon chocolate syrup into each cup; freeze, uncovered, 2 hours. Pour remaining milk mixture into cups; freeze, uncovered, 8 hours or until firm.
Makes 12.
Recipe from Southern Living
MARGARITA POPTAILS
¾ cup sugar
Finely shredded zest of 1 lime (use a box grater)
½ cup lime juice
¼ cup orange juice
¼ cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons silver tequila
12 orange segments
Combine 1 cup water, the sugar and lime zest in a small saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Let cool, then add lime, orange and lemon juices and tequila.
Divide orange segments among six pop molds, each about 1/3 cup. Fill molds with tequila mixture and freeze until solid, at least 5 hours or overnight.
Makes 6.
Recipe from Sunset
STRAWBERRY PEACH VODKA COLLINS POPS
6 ounces pureed strawberries (about 10 strawberries)
5 ounces vodka (divided use)
2 ounces peach syrup (recipe follows)
12 ounces tonic water
Stir strawberry puree with 2 ounces of vodka. Place three teaspoons of strawberry mixture in the bottom of pop form; set aside. Combine peach syrup with tonic water; add remaining vodka. Pour peach and vodka mixture over strawberry mixture and stir to combine. Freeze for 2 hours, then insert stick. Freeze overnight.
For peach syrup, slice ½ cup washed, peeled and pitted peaches (about 4 medium). Place peaches in a blender or food processor and process until pureed. Place 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar and peach puree in a pot; bring to a boil and continue to boil for 5 minutes.
Recipe from Redbook
LEMON PALE ALE POPS
1⁄3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 4 large lemons)
¼ cup sugar
1 cup pale ale
Mix; stir until sugar has dissolved. Pour into molds and freeze for at least 6 hours.
Makes 4-6.
Recipe from Redbook
BLACKBERRY PROSECCO POPS
4 ounces creme de cassis
1⁄3 cup blackberries
Splash of fresh lime juice
2 pinches lime zest
20 ounces prosecco
Pour creme de cassis on blackberries and crush. Add lime juice and zest. Put 1 teaspoon of mixture into each form and pour prosecco on top. Freeze for 2 hours. Insert sticks and freeze overnight.
Makes 12.
Recipe from Redbook
CHERRY APPLE WHISKEY SOUR POPS
3 cups cherries
1 large green apple
1 lime
1 cup whiskey
½ cup sweet and sour mix (recipe follows)
Pit cherries and peel away apple and lime; cut fruit into quarters. Blend all ingredients. Pour mixture into molds and freeze for 2 hours. Insert sticks and freeze overnight.
For sweet and sour mix, heat ½ cup water and ½ cup sugar in a saucepan until sugar dissolves. Add 1 cup lemon juice and stir. Cool before using.
Makes 8.
Recipe from Redbook
FROZEN MELON-MARGARITA POPS
¾ cup tequila
½ cup Grand Marnier
½ cup fresh lime juice
Pinch of coarse salt
8 ounces cantaloupe, rinds removed
8 ounces watermelon, rinds removed
Stir together tequila, Grand Marnier, fresh lime juice and coarse salt in a large bowl. Cut cantaloupe and watermelon into wedges. Soak in tequila mixture for 15 minutes. Insert ice-pop sticks into wedges. Freeze on a rack-lined baking sheet for 1 hour.
Serves 6.
Recipe from Martha Stewart Living
Contact reporter Heidi Knapp Rinella at hrinella@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0474.
