Mud Pie Ice Cream Pops

Back in the good ole’ days before I realized dairy and gluten were wreaking havoc on my body, we used to go out for ice cream regularly.

Probably more than I would even care to admit.

Let’s just say…a lot. 

My favorite treat was Baskin Robbins Jamoca Almond Fudge and Peanut Butter & Chocolate on a waffle cone, sometimes Nutty Coconut. I mean, if you’re going to do it, you need to do it right.

(Photo courtesy of friedjunk.files.wordpress.com)

After I realized dairy was making me sick…but before I discovered there was dairy free ice cream that was worth eating, I would sneak every now and then and eat regular ice cream. Unfortunately, as time progressed, so did my allergen levels. It wasn’t long before both dairy and gluten made me extremely ill, and it didn’t matter if it was a teaspoon full or a cup full.

And then… along came ice cream made from coconut milk.

~It was like Heaven opened up and the angels handed it to me.~

Can you hear the choir singing hallelujah?

If you have not tried the Coconut Bliss line of ice cream, my heart breaks for you.

They come out with new flavors regularly and I have never had one that I didn’t like. To date, the Salted Caramel & Chocolate that I used in the ice cream pops today…is my absolute favorite. Unbelievable.

Your eyes will roll and you won’t be able to stop yourself from groaning out loud. I promise.

(Photo courtesy of Sassyceliac.com)

I searched high and low for cool ice cream bar molds here with no luck and was too impatient to order them online. But now that I’ve made these, I’m glad I went with the Dixie cups. It would be mighty hard to get these out of an ice cream bar mold gracefully.

I ran across something similar to this on Pinterest and I thought it was a fantastic idea! I mean, the options are endless. Yogurt, sorbet, frozen fruit, fresh fruit, candy pieces, cookie pieces, pretzels, peanut butter, jelly, almond butter, bananas, cookie dough, any kind of ice cream you like, chocolate milk, almond milk, juice, pudding…

I think it would also be a really fun recipe to do with kids in the summer. You could lay out all types of ingredients and let them get creative.

Today in Southern New Hampshire, it’s 82 degrees and the humidity is down to 65%. It’s downright enjoyable.

 A perfect day for making home made mud pie in a Dixie cup.

Have fun!

Mud Pie Ice Cream Pops

*Makes 8 Pops

1 Pint Salted Caramel & Chocolate ~ Coconut Bliss Ice Cream

1 Pint Naked Coconut ~ Coconut Bliss Ice Cream

About 1/2 Cup Roasted Salted Peanuts, roughly chopped

About 8 Tablespoons Crunchy Peanut Butter

3-4 oz. Dark Belgian Chocolate, I like to use Trader Joe’s

6 Glutino Chocolate Vanilla Cream Cookies, as close to Oreos as you’ll ever get!

8 Wide Popsicle Sticks, found mine at Michael’s Craft Store

5 oz. Dixie Cups

Place the cookies in a zipper plastic bag and roll over them a few times with a rolling pin and pour them onto a plate or into a bowl. Roughly chop the peanuts and dark chocolate. Take the lids off the ice cream and allow to soften for about 15 minutes. Remove the lid from the peanut butter.

Set up an assembly line and begin layering everything in the Dixie cups. I layered mine in this order: salted caramel ice cream, peanut butter, cookies, naked coconut ice cream, peanuts & chocolate,  naked coconut ice cream, and then sprinkled the tops in a variety of cookies, chocolate, and/or peanuts.

But of course, you can layer yours however you wish!

I missed the chopped peanut and chocolate chunk layer photo…but you get the gist.

Once you’ve made it to the top, sprinkle with whatever you choose and add the stick. Don’t slide the stick all the way to the bottom of the cup or you’ll get a mouthful of stick on your first bite.

Cut a piece of foil, I tore off small strips and cut them in half and then made a little snip in the middle to fit over the stick. Slide it over the stick, wrap it somewhat snug around the Dixie cup and place in the freezer.

Allow to set overnight or at least 6 hours.

Once they’ve set, remove the foil carefully and snip two sides of the cup with kitchen shears and tear off the cup.