Mexican Chocolate Popsicles

I could tell my husband thought I was a little crazy when he opened the amazon box with my new Tovolo Groovy Pop Molds inside.  A recipe for creamy banana & brown sugar pops on Whole Foods' Facebook page got me thinking about making homemade popsicles.  Then I remembered the amazing Mexican chocolate Pop Craft pops we used to buy at the Fashion Square Mall Food Truck Bazaar.  They were so good, but sadly, the vendor who used to sell them has gone out of business.  

Less than 24 hours after receiving my pop molds, I was making my first batch of popsicles.  

My family loved batch one, which were made with semi-sweet chocolate chips, but decided that the popsicles needed to be a little bit sweeter.  

We sampled batch two today after lunch, and thought they were perfectly sweet now that I had added some milk chocolate chips.  

As you can probably see from the pictures, the pops are a little darker towards the stick.  I am going to have to do a little research about why they are separating a bit once they are put in the freezer. 

The darker layer is a little denser and less sweet, but still good.  My favorite thing about these popsicles is definitely that hint of cinnamon.  For batch one, I only added 1/4 teaspoon.  Batch two got a heaping 1/4 teaspoon.  Batch three got a 1/2 teaspoon, which was just right.

Mexican Chocolate Popsicles

Ingredients

2 1/4 C half & half
2 T light brown sugar - packed
1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 oz semisweet chocolate chips
2 oz milk chocolate chips

Directions

Heat the half & half in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Add the brown sugar and cinnamon, and whisk until dissolved. Add the chocolate, whisking until all the ingredients are well blended.

Chill the pop mixture for at least 30 to 60 minutes in the refrigerator.  Whisk it before filling the pop molds, and freeze them for at least 5 to 6 hours.

Recipe Notes

I use Guittard chocolate chips.  They are made in a peanut and gluten free facility.  I purchase them at The Fresh Market.  

When I don't have enough half & half in the house to make these popsicles, I substitute equal parts of lowfat milk and heavy cream.  

I use my kitchen scale to weigh my chocolate chips.  

I am sure this will be the first of many popsicle recipes on my blog this summer.  Do you make homemade popsicles?  What are your favorite flavors and ingredients?  

Update - I have found that chilling the pop mixture for at least 30 minutes helps lessen the darker layer at the bottom of the popsicles, so I have updated the directions with that added step.  

With the ingredients I use, each popsicle is approximately 275 calories.  

Linked to: Gluten Free and DIY Tuesday, Gluten-Free Wednesdays