Strawberry Chocolate Fudgesicles

It is definitely summer up here in the Pacific Northwest! Today is supposed to reach the 90's, which is downright shocking when you consider we were trudging through the 50's just a couple of weeks ago. I'm not complaining, of course; as a native Californian, sometimes the rainy Oregon winters can seem like they go on forever and I sure do miss the sun those days. But now it's here, and it's HOT! So, naturally I have stocked up on cold beers, cold pickles, and cold popsicles ;D I've also been looking around for some homemade treats to keep cool. When I was little, we had a popsicle making set and my parents used to fill them with Gatorade for us (that's pretty much the only way I like my Gatorade). Out of an urge of nostalgia, I got some funky popsicle molds from Bed Bath and Beyond the other day, and I set out to find some yummy cold treats to make (Gatorade pops are so 1990's, psh). I found a really simple fudgesicle recipe on Pinterest that uses Nutella and I was like YES (because what every dieter needs is a jar of Nutella in her house). The original recipe is from 52 Kitchen Adventures, which has lots of really great om noms. I adapted the recipe a little bit: I don't really like milk and I never have it on hand, so I substituted almond milk, which is my favorite non-dairy alternative. I added come cut up strawberries because I noticed I had some that were pretty ripe, and then I could make the pops kind of like chocolate-dipped berries. Also, I used Jiff Chocolate spread instead of Nutella because it was 70¢ cheaper and I'm cheap, and chocolate spread is chocolate spread as much as I can tell.

Fudgey Chocolate Strawberry Chunky Creamy Popsicle Thingies

Click to download a printable recipe card for Strawberry Chunk Fudgesicles

Things you'll need:

• 3 tblsp Jiff Chocolate spread (or other chocolatey spread)
• 1/2 cup Almond milk
• 1 cup Light Cool Whip
• Strawberries (4 - 6 small, or 2 - 3 large)
• Mixing bowl
• Hand blender
• Cutting board
• Knife
• Popsicle mold (I made 4 with this recipe)

Start with cleaning and cutting up your strawberries. Make sure to remove all leaves and anything you don't want to eat. I chopped mine up into small pieces, but kept them large enough so you can still get the texture of the berry in the popsicle. Set aside strawberries. In the mixing bowl, combine cool whip, almond milk, and Jiff. Set your mixer to the lowest speed and gently mix all the ingredients until combined. You know what the best thing about making fudgesicles is? Getting to lick all the spoons when you're done. I had a lot of spoons. Make sure to get the Jiff mixed in so everything is chocolatey. Fold in the strawberry pieces with a spatula. Pour the mixture into the popsicle molds and seal. Freeze for several hours (mine took over night to set into popsicle form).

These pops are so creamy, but they're also light and fluffy. Awesome summer treat to kick back on the couch and watch some Star Trek with (completely unrelated, but I have been watching a lot of Next Gen lately).

Happy Summer! Wear sunblock (SPF 50 or higher)! <3