Chocolate 2.0: Spiced Mexican Popsicles

Although the calendar says this is fall, October temperatures in the Kansas City area can still fluctuate wildly, from the 40s to the upper 70s. With this crazy weather in mind, here’s a cold, sweet treat for you to enjoy on those days when you don’t even need  to wear a jacket. 

This inaugural blog recipe is a riff on a very old L.A. Times recipe, called Mayan Chocolate Pops. The original recipe featured espresso or espresso powder, plus two cups of half-and-half. But my husband isn't a coffee fan so I nixed that ingredient, and reduced the amount of half-and-half slightly, to help with freezing.

The L.A. Times version did include cinnamon, but I increased the amount for my cinnamon-loving family. Finally, I added chile powder, another family favorite and quite appropriate for cuisine from this part of the world. Please enjoy my:

Spiced Mexican Popsicles 
Makes 6, 3-ounce servings

¼ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon chile powder (I use Ancho chile powder)
¾ cup sugar
1 3/4 cups half-and-half
1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Combine the cocoa, chile powder, cinnamon, and sugar, in a saucepan. Whisk in enough of the half-and-half to make a paste, then gradually whisk in the rest of the half-and-half. Gently bring to a boil, stirring often.

2. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Allow mixture to cool to room temperature; you can pour the mixture from the hot pan into a bowl, to reduce cooling time. Then use a ladle to gently pour the mixture into and freeze in molds (I use 3-ounce Dixie cups as my molds).

​3. Add wooden/popsicle sticks when mixture is slushy, after about 1 ½-2 hours. Freeze for at least two hours more, before serving.