Strawberry Shortcake on a Stick

By Katie Barreira

Ripe summer berries always make me crave jammy, jewel-toned desserts like pies, cobblers and crisps. But it just seems cruel, for both cooks and eaters, to serve bubbling baked goods in this sizzling heat. The dilemma has inspired me to come up with frozen twists on some of my favorite oven-made treats.

This week, I had a hankering for late-season strawberry shortcake. So I took the traditional shortcake topping of sugar-sweetened strawberries, puréed it with rich, tangy Greek yogurt and poured it into popsicle molds. Then, to mimic the shortcake biscuits, I finely ground shortbread cookies for a crispy pop coating. The result was a hands-free and refreshing version of the original with all the intensity of flavor. These sticks totally hit the spot!

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Strawberry Shortcake Pops
Makes ten 3-ounce popsicles

1/2 cup sugar
5 ounces shortbread cookies, finely ground in food processor
10 ounces strawberries, hulled
1 cup full-fat Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch salt
3 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
5 ounces shortbread cookies, finely ground in food processor

1. In a small pot, bring the sugar and 1/2 cup water to a boil; stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Let cool.
2. Meanwhile, lightly toast the ground shortbread in a skillet over low heat. Cool completely.
3. Using a food processor, puree the cooled sugar syrup, strawberries, yogurt, lemon juice, vanilla extract and salt. Divide the mixture among popsicle molds, insert the ice-pop sticks and freeze until solid, about 5 hours.
4. Unmold pops one at a time, keeping the remaining pops frozen, and coat the top two-thirds of the pop with a thin layer of sweetened condensed milk. Roll the pop in the ground cookies, allowing the crumbs to adhere to the condensed milk. Serve immediately or return to freezer, laying flat, until ready to serve.

Tip: To unmold, run hot water over the molds to loosen pops.

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