Boozy Strawberry Blueberry Cheesecake Popsicles and the Pursuit of Happiness

Is there any better way to celebrate the birth of our great nation than with these red, white, and sort of blue popsicles? Before you answer, I should mention they’re actually strawberry and blueberry cheesecake ice pops, and also spiked with booze.

Like much of our country, these are very simple, and get a little more interesting when you add a few shots of alcohol. I used vodka for its neutral flavor, but my scientist friends tell me any liquor will work just the same. However, be sure to measure carefully, since too much or too little alcohol and/or sugar syrup will adversely affect the frozen texture.

I didn’t want anything too icy, and it’s the alcohol and sugar that keeps this from freezing rock solid. If you leave out the booze, you’ll get a firmer ice pop, so you’ve been warned. I’m not sure how to adjust to compensate, so you may want to grab a regular fruit ice pop recipe on Allrecipes.com and use it instead.

I joked about our Founding Fathers being proud of this particular pursuit of happiness, but the more I think about it, I bet they would have been; especially that Ben Franklin guy. Dude liked to party. So, whether you make these on the 4th of July, or not, I really hope you give them a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 6 Boozy Strawberry Blueberry Cheesecake Popsicles:

For the simple syrup:

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

(This makes extra. Use it for lemonade and ice tea)

For the strawberry layer:

1 1/3 cup trimmed and quartered strawberries

1 1/2 tablespoon simple syrup

1 1/2 tablespoon vodka

For the cheesecake layer:

4 ounces (1/2 cup) room temp cream cheese

1 1/2 tablespoon simple syrup

1 tbsp vodka

For the blueberry layer:

1 1/3 cup trimmed and quartered blueberries

1 1/2 tablespoon simple syrup

1 1/2 tablespoon vodka