My prediction: Popsicles are the new cupcakes. (You heard it here first.) It seems like recipes for the things are everywhere, and I must admit, the cute/retro/nostalgia factor combined with some tantalizing new ideas I am seeing (martini-on-a-stick, anyone?) has me totally obsessed. It all started when I received the July issue of Sunset Magazine, which has a pretty spread of popsicle recipes (photo at left), from strawberry-sour cream to blackberry-cardamom. Here are some other recipes I've found:

Ice pops recipes at Martha Stewart (including Tiny Limoncello Ice Pops and Mexican paletas *)

Popsicles recipes at Epicurious **

Ice pops recipes at Epicurious (the Campari-grapefruit flavor has my mouth watering)

Fruit pops recipes at Sunset Magazine (I've already made the mango-coconut. Yum.)

Popsicles recipes from CDKitchen (including a few recipes for fudgesicles)

Ice pops recipes at the Food Network (all of the cocktail-on-a-stick variety)

Watermelon-Cucumber Popsicles at NewYorkMetro.com (Mmm.)

Popsicles recipes at GourmetSleuth.com (including Tuna Popsicles in Lemongrass Jelly--uh, no thanks.)


* When I was in Oaxaca in the summer of 2003, I had the most amazing popsicles--paletas, as they are called there. The best selection was at a Mexican frozen-treats chain (a sort of South-of-the-Border Dairy Queen, if you will) called La Michoacan. They had a seemingly endless freezer case of paletas in the coolest flavors (no pun intended), from savory/spicy varietes with chiles, to all manner of tropical fruit flavors with chunks of real fruit, to unusual sweet takes like arroz con leche (a cinnamon-sprinkled rice-pudding flavor). I've been trying to find a local outlet for Mexican-style paletas here in the Bay Area (other than those guys with the musical carts in the parks) with no success. But I found this archived article from Sunset Magazine, with some paleta recipes (the cucumber-chili one sounds interesting). You can read more about Mexican paletas here.

** What's with the popsicle/ice pop distinction? I defintely got differently weighted results when I searched for each term. Is it a regional variation, à la soda/pop/Coke? I've always called them popsicles, and I've definitely consumed my share as a born-and-raised California girl. Thoughts?