Recipe for Matcha Pistachio Popsicles

There is nothing better than a cold, refreshing popsicle on a sweltering summer day, but how about a treat so tasty you want it all year round? These matcha pistachio popsicles, courtesy of recipe developer Julie Kinnaird, are creamy, rich, and sophisticated, and they can be made with ease in your own kitchen. All that is required is a high-speed blender and a set of popsicle molds and verdant, lip-smacking indulgence is just a freeze away.

Soaking raw pistachios overnight and combining them with velvety coconut cream makes these frozen pops ultra-creamy, unlike many non-dairy frozen confections. They are lightly sweetened with honey and have a touch of vanilla and almond extracts to enhance the matcha flavor. Matcha powder adds a hint of earthiness and rich tea flavor that pairs beautifully with the sweet, buttery essence of the pistachios. All ingredients go in the blender before being poured into the molds and topped with a few chopped pistachios for texture and visual appeal.

This recipe comes together with just a handful of ingredients. First you will need raw, shelled pistachios. Avoid getting roasted or salted pistachios, as you want them to be as sweet as possible.You will need a can of coconut cream (not coconut milk) along with pure vanilla and almond extracts for flavoring. Choose your favorite honey for sweetening, such as a mild wildflower or clover variety. Finally, the star ingredient is culinary grade matcha powder, which adds a wonderful earthy flavor and a distinctive green color. Add just a pinch of sea salt to give all of the flavors a boost.

Roughly chop ½ cup of the pistachios and set aside.

Place the remaining pistachios in a large heat-proof bowl and cover with hot water. Soak for at least 4 hours and up to 12.

Drain and rinse the soaked pistachios.

Add the rinsed pistachios to a high-speed blender or food processor with the coconut cream, honey, matcha powder, extracts, and sea salt.

Blend until smooth.

Pour the mixture into popsicle molds.

Top each popsicle with some of the chopped pistachios.

Place lid on the popsicle mold and/or insert sticks into each popsicle.

Freeze the popsicles for at least 8 hours.

Unmold the pistachio popsicles and enjoy.

If you have ever browsed the grocery store shelves for canned coconut milk, the options can be a bit overwhelming and somewhat confusing. Labels touting “lite” or “natural”, “coconut cream” or “cream of coconut” indicate a variety of ways that coconut can be processed into a non-dairy milk. Canned coconut milk is produced from the grated white meat of the coconut which is pureed with varying amounts of water. Lite coconut milk is simply coconut milk that is more watered down to dilute the caloric content. This variety often contains stabilizers and preservatives, such as guar and xanthan gums, which can interfere with the textures of certain recipes. When selecting a coconut milk to cook with, check the label to make sure that coconut and water are the only ingredients.

The main difference between coconut milk and coconut cream is in the fat content. Coconut cream has a more viscous texture due to the higher fat content and produces a richer product. When shopping for coconut cream for this matcha pistachio popsicle recipe, avoid buying cream of coconut as it is an entirely different product. Both products are made from a base of blended coconut flesh, but cream of coconut has added sugar.

Matcha is produced from shade-grown tea leaves which are picked by hand, heated, dried, and then ground into a fine powder. The high level of chlorophyll in the leaves gives matcha its vibrant green color. Because it is a powder, matcha is much more concentrated and intense in flavor than steeped tea leaves, making it perfect for recipe preparations. Matcha is usually sold in the U.S. in two main categories: culinary and ceremonial matcha. Ceremonial-grade matcha is made from the first harvest tea leaves, which have the highest level of chlorophyll and l-theanine (a compound that makes matcha less bitter). Culinary-grade matcha powders have a wider range of colors, from deep green to shades of brown. This type of matcha is more suitable for recipe preparations than preparing as tea.

Although culinary-grade matcha is perfectly acceptable for this matcha pistachio popsicle recipe, Kinnaird says that she often likes to use a ceremonial grade to really enhance the color and depth of flavor in the pops. She also suggests playing around with the amount of matcha used in the recipe depending on your personal taste preference.