Paletas de Fresas con Habaneros

Author Notes

When summer comes, I love nothing more than a habanero margarita. This pop is an icy, spicy, treat to eat sitting on the stoop. I only had coconut milk around, but I am positive it would be much better with coconut cream. I did not have popsicle molds and neither did my local grocery, so I bought the five for a dollar single-serving gelatinas (jellos) and used chopsticks in lieu of ice pop sticks. Yogurt cups would work equally well. - clintonhillbilly —clintonhillbilly

Test Kitchen Notes

Clintonhillbilly suggests this recipe makes six ice pops. My mold only makes four, so I guess I have to cop to the fact that I ate the remaining two portions of the mixture, unfrozen, with a spoon. Had I not emptied my tequila bottle the night before I tested this recipe, I would have added some of that and used a straw instead! This mixture counters the sweetness of the strawberries and sugar with the sour of the lime and a bit of salt, and balances the heat of the habanero pepper with the coolness of the mint, the coconut milk and the frozen state. Serving these at the tail end of a summer BBQ will show just how well you can make even the simple things very, very interesting. - cheese1227
—The Editors