Pay de Limon-Paletas (Lemon Pie Popsicles)

This recipe for pay de limon paletas(lemon pie popsicles), has to be the easiest paleta recipe. There is no blender or strainer involved, just one bowl and one whisk! That easy! Oh, and a zester for the lemon zest. Ok, so it still is one of the easier paletas to prepare. It seems that my whole life I have always loved lemons. Growing up in California, our neighbor down the street had a lemon tree in his backyard. I loved going to visit with his kids because that meant free lemons! I was so addicted to eating lemons with a little salt, that eventually I had to cut way back. It really did a number on the enamel on my front teeth. Lol! Thank goodness I have an awesome dentist , ha, ha, ha! Needless to say, I do not eat lemons like that anymore, but I still use them in my daily cooking. It seems like every summer I am looking for a new paleta recipe to experiment with. This recipe was adapted from a lemon freezer pie. Instead of graham crackers, I used Maria-style cookie wafers for cookie crumbs. I have those in my pantry all of the time. It’s a quick cookie fix with coffee when there is nothing else. My tio(uncle) David used to work at the big cookie plant, Gamesa, in Monterrey, Mexico. I remember thinking how lucky for my cousins because he probably brought home cookies all of the time! Lol! Because that’s what kids would hpe, anyway. Now-a-days, you can purchase all kinds of popsicle(paleta) molds. It just depends on what you are looking for, the price ranges will vary. Preparing paletas is especially fun for the kids. They like to get involved and watc how the whole process comes together. What flavors will you be preparing this summer?

Yields 6 paletas

Ingredients

14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup half and half

Zest of 2 lemons

Juice of 4 large lemons(3/4 cup)

½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste

yellow food coloring gel or liquid (I used just the tip of a toothpick of the gel), optional

pinch of salt

5 ounces Maria style cookie wafer, crushed

6 paleta(popsicle) molds that hold about ½ cup each of liquid.

Directions

In a bowl whisk together the condensed milk and half and half. Whisk in the zest, lemon juice, vanilla, salt and food coloring. Pour mix into a large measuring cup. Get your molds ready.

Add 1 teaspoon of crushed cookies to each mold. Pour in the paleta mix into each mold until almost filled. Add more cookie crumbs to the bottom of each paleta. Freeze for 2 hours, then insert the sticks. Freeze for another 4-5 hours.

When ready, remove from freezer and let sit for a few minutes. Spread the remaining cookie crumbs onto a plate. One at a time, gently run the paleta under warm water. Slowly remove from mold. Quickly dip the paleta into cookie crumbs on both sides and place onto plate. Place the plate in the freezer as you finish the remaining paletas. I would suggest letting the paletas firm up a little more on the plate.

If not eating right away, you could wrap them individually and place into a freezer bag until ready to eat.