Watermelon Margarita Pops
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Ingredients:
1 seedless mini watermelon
1/2 cup silver Tequila, I like Patron
1/3 cup Cointreau or other orange liqueur
¼ cup fresh squeezed lime juice, 2-3 limes
flaky sea salt such as Maldon, for sprinkling
For the non-alcoholic version:
1 cup limeade or lemonade
2 Tablespoons-¼ cup fresh squeezed lime juice, or to taste
Make the pops:
Cut the mini watermelon in half along the equator, Lay it on the flat side and carefully cut two 1 inch rounds from each half. You should have 4 rounds. Cut each round into 4 wedges. And then using a small knife, cut a slit in the bottom of the rind of each one. Wiggle the knife alittle to make a large enough opening and insert the popsicle stick.
If you are making some non-alcoholic ones too, cut those into different shapes or use a different colored popsicle stick to tell them apart.
In a 4 cup glass measuring cup or small bowl, combine the tequila, Cointreau and lime juice. Place the watermelon slices on a rimmed sheet pan or split them between two large baking dishes. Pour the margarita mixture over the watermelon and place in the fridge or freezer. If desired, but not necessary, after every hour flip the pops. If they’re in the fridge, chill for 2 hours or up to overnight. Frozen ones, will take 3-4 hours to freeze, or pop them in the freezer overnight. they’re delicious partially frozen too. To serve, lightly sprinkle with the flaky sea salt.
Makes 16 pops. YUM!
LESSONS Learned:
1. Check out the field spot. That’s the place where the watermelon sat on the ground as it grew. It should be a creamy, yellow color, not white. The darker the color, the better—it’s an indicator of a longer, sweeter growing time.
2. The watermelon should feel heavy for its size. That means that there is a lot of water inside---another good ripeness indicator.
3. Pick a dull looking one. Shiny means it’s not ripe yet.
4. Pick perfectly round or oval ones. If they’re misshapen, that means that they got varying amounts of water and sun while growing, which can lead to a less delicious fruit.
5. You can thump away on it with your knuckles, if you like. A ripe one will kind of bounce back. An under ripe or over ripe one will sound like a dull thud.
6. Did you know that there are little black sugar spots on ripe watermelons? That’s where the sugar is seeping out of the melon.
7. You might even see bee stings! Another good sign.
A FEW MORE TIPS!
1. To make it easier to insert the popsicle stick, wiggle the knife up and down to make the opening a little larger.
2. If you decide to make non-alcoholic ones too, cut them in different shapes or use different colored popsicle sticks so that you can easily tell them apart.
3. Limes are sometimes hard to squeeze. Pop them in the microwave for 30 seconds, and you’ll get lots of juice.
4. It’s not necessary, but I do like to flip them a few times during the chilling process for even coverage.
5. Since there really are no rules here, freeze them, chill them in the fridge, or skip all that and just put them in a glass with the margarita mix for dunking.