Roasted Cherry and Coconut Pistachio Orgeat Ice Pops

Directions

1. Bring 2 cups water to boil in a medium-sized saucepan over medium high heat. Once boiling, add 1 cup of the pistachios and boil for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, cover and let steep for 20 minutes.
2. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid and drain the rest. Combine boiled pistachios and 1 cup of the cooking liquid in a food processor and process until well blended. Use a cheese cloth to strain the liquid into a small saucepan. At this point you can discard the pistachio pulp and cheesecloth, however the pulp can be used for other recipes like smoothies, cookies, cakes, crackers or even ice cream.
3. Place the small saucepan with pistachio milk over medium-high heat and add salt and 1/3 cup of the sugar. Stir over the heat until the sugar dissolves, remove from heat and let cool completely. Stir in orange blossom water and vodka. Refrigerate until ready to use. The orgeat syrup will keep for up to a week. It naturally separates, so be sure to give it a shake before using.
4. Combine pistachio orgeat with coconut milk. Add to the ice pop molds, just under 3 ounces per mold and freeze for 45 minutes.
5. Meanwhile make the roasted cherries. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine the cherries and the remaining 1/3 cup of sugar in a small roasting pan. Roast for 30 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in lemon zest and juice then let cool. Fill in the ice pop molds with the roasted cherries, insert ice pop sticks in the molds and freeze completely. When ready to enjoy, place the ice pop molds into a cup of hot water to loosen the ice pops. Crush the remaining roasted pistachios and sprinkle them on the bottom of each pop.