Sundays With Joy ~ Cool Down Edition

How could you possibly improve on a plate of dark chocolate and raspberries?  It's not easy but you can.  You add chunks of each to a smooth fudgey pudding mixture and freeze it.  What you get are Chocolate Raspberry Fudge Pops, another Joy Wilson creation (check out Joy's book here).  Sounds easy right?  So where does the hard part come in?  Getting those stinking pops out of the molds!  I checked with my other Sundays With Joy gals to see what recommendations they might have on molds.  I was told as long as I run them under warm water, I'll be fine.  I was told small cups/popsicle sticks would work too.  I was convinced I needed some molds so off I went.  Bed, Bath and Beyond and Target were both a bust.  Unless I wanted to spend over 20 bucks to get the instant-freeze maker thingy that only made 4 at a time.  It has a name but I can't recall it.  I then happened upon some at my grocery store.  These here in two different sizes to give my first attempt at homemade fudge pops a success or so I thought.

The small ones came out after running under warm water like I was told but the ends were melting already by the time I got them out.  Fine if you are going to eat them right away, not fine if you need to get a photo from every possible angle you can.  The large ones were even harder to get out.  I ran them under water but the handle still pulled out on me, so now what?  I'm hoping the sticks re-freeze and I will be able to get them out eventually. 

See, these fudge pops are quite tasty and I don't want to waste a single one!  Especially because it is like 1000 degrees out as I type this.  O.K. maybe not 1000 but in the 80's, close to 90's and humid.  This was also another great way to use some of the raspberries from the family garden.

 Don't forget the four-legged friends during those hot days.  They may enjoy a frozen treat too!  Izzy enjoys Purina Frosty Paws.  I have a recipe to make some homemade dog friendly treats I need to try.  I know I have a great taste tester when I do.

Have a recipe or tip for staying cool in the summer heat?  I'd love to hear it.

Don't forget to check out what the rest of the Sundays With Joy gals thought of these fudge pops.  Carrie at Bakeaholic Mama hosts the link HERE.

P.S. What do you think of the new blog look?