Congratulations, you managed to make it through the annual family road trip without “accidentally” leaving one of your children at a rest stop. Clearly you deserve a treat, preferably one with a splash of liquor mixed in.
Melt away the stress of listening to nothing but the Frozen soundtrack for 500-plus miles by whipping up a batch of these adult-only Grand Poppy Popsicles.
The following recipe comes to us courtesy of Tyler Malek, the brains behind the brain freeze at Portland, Oregon’s, farm-to-cone ice cream shop, . A modern day alchemist, Malek transmutes sweet and savory into lustful combinations—think bone marrow with smoked bourbon cherries or honey balsamic strawberry with cracked pepper.
This recipe is based off of a sherbet Malek makes for the Salt and Straw’s Los Angeles location. It incorporates a poppy-infused liqueur from , also based in L.A. “I loved how this liqueur has a floral delicacy while still keeping an assertive astringency,” says Malek. “To feature this in our ice cream shops, we kept the recipe really simple by adding just a touch of lemon juice to brighten the poppy flavor as well as a little bit of cream to hold that flavor to your taste buds.”
These are best served with a bottle of bubbles and a side order of thank-god-school-starts-again-next-week.
What You’ll Need
2/3 cup white cane sugar
½ teaspoon Xanthan gum (If you don’t have Xanthan gum use an equal amount of cornstarch.)
½ teaspoon salt
1½ cups water
¼ cup corn syrup or tapioca syrup
1 teaspoon lemon juice
½ cup Grand Poppy Liqueur
¼ cup heavy cream
½ cup whole milk
Instructions
1. Prep the sugar, salt, and Xanthan (or cornstarch) by gently mixing them together in a small bowl.
2. Pour the water in a pot and whisk in the sugar-Xanthan mixture.
3. Add the corn syrup.
4. Heat the water while stirring constantly until it thickens and the sugar is completely melted into the water.
5. Cool this syrup in a refrigerator until it is cool to the touch.
6. Add the cream, milk, lemon juice, and the Grand Poppy liqueur to the sugar syrup.
7. To freeze, pour the mixture into your popsicle molds, insert the popsicle sticks and place in the coldest part of your freezer. Freeze for at least 4 to 5 hours.
8. Remove the pops from the molds by running each under hot water and gently pulling out the finished product.