Homemade Pudding Pops - Chocolate and Vanilla

I happen to be the very proud owner of vintage Tupperware popcicle molds - the exact ones my Mother owned back in the early 1970's.  But when I was shopping at my local Walmart a few weeks ago I came across these primary colored ice pop molds that were on clearance.  For a quarter (yes, a quarter!) I picked up 4 of them.

I wasn't in the mood for popcicles and we didn't have any 'littles' visiting us any time soon so I decided to make pudding pops as that was something I knew both my husband and I would eat!  We are old enough to recall the awesome Jello Pudding Pops of the 80's but obviously a copy-cat recipe of those would be very difficult to make.  In addition to that, we normally don't eat sugar so I wanted to make a sugar free version.

In the end, I used a cook-n-serve package of chocolate pudding; made with almond milk and I made homemade vanilla pudding from scratch.  I've made 'pudding pops' in the past using regular milk and no gelatin; but they were too icy and the water in the milk made them almost like a milk popcicle (yuck) so this time the almond milk and heavy cream, along with some unflavored gelatin, gave it a much creamier texture.

I'm assuming you can use instant pudding - I just don't care for the taste of it.  Also - feel free to use regular with-sugar pudding and use evaporated milk instead of almond milk/cream.

Pudding Pops

1 package cook and serve chocolate pudding
1 cup unsweetened almond milk (unflavored or vanilla)
1 cup evaporated milk, half and half or heavy cream
1 teaspoons vanilla (freezing the pops mellows the vanilla flavoring so I like to add a bit extra)
1 pkg. unflavored gelatin with a couple tablespoons of cold water to soften it

Sprinkle the dry unflavored gelatin over a couple tablespoons cold water.  Let it set to soften a couple minutes.  Mix the pudding mix according to directions but use a mixture of almond milk and heavy cream or half and half.  You can also use evaporated milk (this is the the kind without water in it; NOT the same as sweetened condensed milk). Whisk in the gelatin mixture and cook over medium heat according to directions on the pudding package.  Let it cool for 5-10 minutes while you get the molds ready.  Pour into the molds and freeze for 10-12 hours as the pudding mixture is so warm it will take longer to cool then freeze.  If you opt to use instant, it should freeze in 3-4 hours instead.

For the Vanilla versions I simply made homemade vanilla pudding, added the gelatin and repeated the instructions above by pouring and freezing.

1 c half and half or cream
1 c unsweetened almond milk
1/2 c natural granulated sweetener
2 t unflavored gelatin
3 egg yolks
3 T butter - real
4 t vanilla extract

Sprinkle the dry gelatin over a couple tablespoons of water or half and half.  Let it set. Combine the sweetener and milk(s) of choice in a pan on the stove.  Cook over medium heat until the sweetener is dissolved.  Beat the egg yolks in a bowl and slowly drizzle in about a cup of the hot milk(s) mixture in while whisking.  As soon as it's incorporated, pour this back into the pan with the milk/sweeteners.  Whisk in the gelatin and the vanilla.  After a couple minutes of cooking and whisking; Turn off the heat, add the butter.  Let this cool for 5-10 minutes while you get the molds ready.  When it's cooled a bit, pour and deep freeze for 10-12 hours.

Run hot water over the pop-ice molds for a minute to loosen the pudding pop from the mold so it slides out easily.

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