Blackberry Dreamsicles

We have always lived in the country and always had plentiful thickets of blackberries. Picking blackberries is just standard fare around here every summer…In year's past it was my children...now it's my Grands roaming the acres. It’s therapy plucking a plump ripe berry and dropping it into a basket. I sketched this for my nature notebook some years ago.

Here on our acres thickets are plentiful with berries and the little GrandDears are keeping up the tradition of plucking berries and bringing in cupfuls to make treats.

They all love our original recipe of BlackBerry Fritters found in The Young Man's Handybook. I think I’ve just found a new favorite!

Flipping through some old Southern Living Magazines I found a featured recipe of Buttermilk-Blackberry Popsicle. Hmmm…sounds interesting ‘cuz recently I have acquired a taste for thick and creamy raw buttermilk we get from a local  dairy…I keep it in a tiny glass bottle in my frig door and take a few swigs a few times a day…good fer ya!

[PRINTABLE RECIPE CLICK HERE]

I tweaked up the recipe and made them like this:
Blend up in food processor or blender:
1 1/2 cups washed freshly picked blackberries
7 Tablespoons orange juice concentrate
Mix together:
1 1/2 cups fresh creamy whole raw buttermilk
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup clover honey
Add in fruit and buttermilk mixture alternately to popsicle molds or mini paper cups (like little bathroom dixie cups)  until 3/4 full. Place in freezer on sturdy shelf for 20 minutes. Then push in wooden Popsicle sticks into centers of each pop. Freeze overnight.

Note 1: You will have to run warm water over the outside of the mold or cup for a few seconds to be able to loosen the popsicle from the mold.
Note 2: Blackberries have seeds…some of these are blended in the processor but the popsicle will have small seeds still – so if you have an aversion to blackberry seeds or digestive issues you would need to put the berries through a strainer first to remove all seeds. The BOSCH accessory of the Berry Press does a great job of this if you want to go to the extra trouble of removing the seeds.
Note 3: I think after savoring and enjoying these dreamy frozen treats, that it would be delish with blueberries or strawberries too! So I am definitely going to try it as soon as the blueberry patch across the lane starts hanging heavy with plump blue deliciousness.
NOTE: I've tried it since with peaches and also strawberries and it is AMAZING!