Blackberry Chip Froyo Breakfast Pops

I signed up for my first marathon the other day and this week marks the beginning of an intense and strict 18-week training schedule. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. I told myself for many many years that I didn’t want to attempt anything beyond a half, but here I am.

So I’ve bought new running shoes, stocked up on electrolyte drink tablets, and equipped myself with a plethora of post-run snacks including peanut butter (obviously), kind bars, orange juice, and these popsicles!! These are blackberry chip froyo breakfast pops. Yes, breakfast. Though I’ve had them at several points in they day and they work there too.

If you imagine waking up a 6:30 in the morning, followed by an hour of running in the already-sweltering July heat, a cool and creamy popsicle does sound nice right when you walk in the door, doesn’t it? And when it comes down to it, this popsicle is no different than having yogurt and fruit for breakfast with a handful of chocolate chips thrown in for good measure. Maybe you could even dip it in a bowl of granola on the side as you go too or take it in the car with you if you’re in a hurry, lots of options here.

The flavor here takes inspiration from one of my favorite ice creams, Edy’s Slow Churned Raspberry Chip Royale, and flavor which is unfortunately no longer around as far as I’m aware. When I was in high school, a time when I was running aggressively 6 times a week, my best friends and I would tear into a giant container of this stuff on a regular basis and without restraint. I remember us polishing off one of these monstrosities the night before a ten-mile run and the next day we felt amazing so obviously the ice cream did good things for us. Hopefully it’ll have the same effect on this marathon training too.

While these popsicles are not exact replicas of my favorite ice cream, they are very satisfying in their own way. Made with a base of vanilla greek yogurt, the resulting popsicle is more icy, as opposed to a creamy ice cream bar, making it more refreshing on hot days. I added blackberry sauce made by heating frozen blackberries with sugar in a pan until they break down and straining out the seeds. This gives them a deep berry flavor and their awesome merlot color. And of course the chocolate chips. No explanation needed there.

Blackberry Chip Froyo Breakfast Pops
Makes 10 popsicles (using this mold)
Adapted from Little Spice Jar

Ingredients
12 oz frozen blackberries
4 Tbs sugar, divided
2½ cups vanilla greek yogurt
¼ cup milk or almond milk
1/3 cup chocolate chips, roughly chopped

In a medium saucepan combine the blackberries and 2 Tbs of sugar and place over a medium heat. As the blackberries heat up use a wooden spoon to stir the mixture and mash the fruit into a sauce. Once the fruit is warmed and broken down, remove from the heat and strain using a sieve set over a medium bowl. Use the spoon to press down on the fruit to get out as much of the juice as possible (This step is optional but I really hate seeds in things so I take the time to separate them). Set aside to cool.

While the blackberry sauce cools, combine the yogurt, milk, and the remaining 2 Tbs. of sugar in a medium bowl and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add in the cooled blackberry sauce and stir to combine. Stir in the chocolate chips as well. Transfer the mixture to your popsicles molds using a ladle making sure to evenly divide the chocolate pieces as they may sink to the bottom of the bowl.

Place the molds in the freezer until completely solid. Run them under warm water to remove from molds and serve immediately.