Lemon Lavender Fro Yo Pops

Lately, I've been wanting to try making my own frozen yogurt. I've also been wanting to cook with lavender, one of my favorite aromas/flavors. Today seemed like a good day to do so. Still warm enough to enjoy a frozen treat, but cool enough to make me long for warm summer days in southern France.

If you're going to make frozen yogurt, you have a couple of choices. You can either churn it in an ice cream maker or you can make it into yogurt pops. As I didn't much feel like hauling out the ice creamer maker, and I just got some popsicle molds from Ikea, you can guess which option I went with. I must say, they turned out pretty well for a first attempt.

The unexpected ingredient in this recipe is the lavender. You can buy food-grade lavender buds online from places like the Spice House and other specialty stores. Also, you generally have to grind it before using it. I purchased a bag of lavender buds in southern France and ground some of them in my Cuisinart this afternoon.

The buds are on the right, the ground lavender on the left.

Lavender is lovely in cakes, frostings and ice cream, as well as in any savory recipe where you would normally use rosemary. Like many herbs, a little goes a long way. It certainly turned out great in this recipe.

Lemon Lavender Fro Yo Pops
Makes 6 pops
51 calories per serving

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups plain low-fat yogurt
1 tbsp lemon zest
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp honey or other sweetener
1 tsp ground lavender buds
2 drops purple food coloring (optional)

Directions:
1. Zest the lemon, then cut it in half and squeeze out 1 tbsp of juice.

This is the part where I show off my awesome citrus zester.

It captures the zest in a little compartment!

2. Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Mix thoroughly.

While the purple food coloring is optional, it definitely gives that pretty lavender color.

3. Pour mixture into molds and freeze for 1 1/2 or 2 hours, or until solid. If you don't have molds, Dixie cups and popsicle sticks will do the trick!

See how easy that was? Now you have a low-cal treat for your sweet tooth!

Next time I make fro yo pops, I might try adding in a little bit of fat to make them more creamy, or sweeten them up some. There was a lot of acid and tang in these pops, which I personally like, but would maybe add some date sugar to balance it out.

This recipe is very versatile with flavor combinations. Next time I think I'll try chocolate and orange zest or blackberry jam and almond butter. The possibilities are endless!