Fool 'Em: Homemade Fudgesicles

Vegan Fudgesicles with just four ingredients. I went there. 

Let me begin by saying it was 102 degrees outside today. All the drapes are shut tight and the A/C is running hard, just to keep it 80 degrees in the house. These are the kinds of summer days that make me happy to have a day job—one that keeps me in a cool office building during the most grueling months.

One of my summer goals was to make popsicles, and I've pretty much mastered the peach and tequila pops. (They're delicious on their own, of course, but I like to put one in a glass and pour a Topo Chico on top for a refreshing beverage. Oh yes, you should go there.)

Recently, though, I made something marvelous. Something that I will turn to time and time again, especially when there are kids around with discriminating palates. Something that could fool even the most critical of ice cream tasters. Something that I consider part of my dinner salad because it's mostly made up of vegetable.

Homemade vegan fudgesicles. Four ingredients—and they come together in mere minutes.

Yeah.

Of the four ingredients, two are so unlikely that you may scratch your head at first and wonder what kind of a path I've led you down: avocados (heart-healthy fat!) and coconut milk (Ayurvedic properties!). The other two ingredients—cocoa and sugar—hardly turn this into a too-sweet, bad-for-you dessert.

Canned coconut milk can be found in the Indian or Asian area of most grocery stores; I used organic light coconut milk from Whole Foods in this recipe which has even less fat and calories than the regular stuff, which makes me feel a little better.

Missing a popsicle mold? Serve this as a cool mousse-like dessert.

Homemade Vegan Fudgesicles
makes 10 average (two-ounce) popsicles

2 large perfectly ripe Haas avocados
3/4 cup organic cane sugar
1 13.5-ounce can light coconut milk
1/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder

Cut open the avocados, remove the pits, and put the fruit in a blender. Add the sugar and cocoa powder, and pour in the coconut milk. Puree until extremely smooth; the batter should be thick but pourable. Taste it and add a little more sugar if needed. Pour into popsicle mold and freeze for 4 hours or overnight.