Strawberry Yogurt Popsicles

Directions

In a small saucepan over medium heat, stir the sugar and water together. Bring to a boil and stir until sugar is dissolved. Chill until cold, or set the pot in a bowl of ice to cool. This will make about 3/4 cup syrup; you will not use it all for this recipe. The leftover syrup can be stored in the fridge for several weeks.

In a blender or food processor, puree the strawberries, lemon juice, and 3 tablespoons of the simple syrup until smooth. Taste and add more simple syrup if you like. Transfer to a measuring cup or bowl.

In a bowl, whisk the yogurt to smooth out the lumps. . With a skewer or chopstick, poke deep into the popsicle molds and swirl the yogurt and fruit together.

Exact proportions will depend on the size of your popsicle molds. You may end up with leftover strawberry puree, which can be refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 3 months for future popsicles or stirred into plain yogurt for breakfast.

Freeze for 1 hour. Remove the mold from the freezer and insert the popsicle sticks, leaving about 2 inches of each stick above the mold. Return to the freezer for another 3 to 4 hours, or until frozen.

Dip the bottom and sides of the mold in a container of hot water , and hold just long enough to slightly thaw the popsicles so they release from the mold. Serve at once, or transfer them to freezer bags and store in the freezer. Three popsicles will fit snugly in a quart-sized freezer bags. Leave them out to soften for a few minutes before diving in, if you can wait that long.