Nut Milk Creamsicles with Boba

It’s springtime, guys. And that means it’s time to get out our popsicle molds and get creative! I love making homemade ice cream and other frozen treats, but it’s so hard to get excited about that kind of thing during the cold winter months. But I’ve been able to pull out my sandals multiple times within the last few weeks, so I’m feeling the frozen treats!

Something a little different about these is we’re going to be making our own flavored nut milks as the base of these popsicles. If you’re a dairy-free person, then you are in luck today! I don’t always eat dairy free.

In fact, I’m probably about as addicted to cheese as I am coffee. But, I am a massive food fan, so I love anything with a lot of flavor and I love trying new flavors. I really love how these creamy treats are actually pretty healthy without missing flavor—plus the boba pearls really change up the texture!

I’m going to show you how to make two different kinds of nut milks, but I’d also like to admit that the third flavor you see (the white, vanilla popsicles) was made using Califia Vanilla Almond Milk.

So, if you don’t have the patience to make your own nut milks, then you can just buy a store bought version, add a little more sweetener if you like, and freeze with boba pearls to get the same result.

First, we need to prep our nuts. Here you can see the pistachios and hazelnuts soaking. Even before this, you need to remove the skins from the nuts as the skins can cause a bitter taste in your milk.

For the pistachios, I rubbed the shelled nuts together inside a kitchen towel and that pretty much removed most of the skins for me.

The hazelnuts however were being a bit stubborn. To remove the hazelnut skins, I decided to try Alice Medrich’s method (found via My Baking Addiction). I was working with 1/2 cup hazelnuts. In a pot I brought 1 cup of water to a boil, and then sprinkled in a spoonful (literally a soup spoon, no precise measurement) of baking soda.

Then, I added the hazelnuts and let them cook for 3 minutes. The water turned a blackish red that looked totally unappealing. The road to dessert is often strange I suppose.

Then, I drained the nuts, plunged into cold water (so I could easily handle them), and then easily rubbed off the skins with my fingertips. I was shocked how well this worked! So much more precise than the kitchen towel method. I’m a new convert!

Once you have your nuts ready, soak in just enough water to cover them for at least 8 hours or overnight. 

Pistachio Nut Milk, makes about 2 cups.

1/2 cup pistachio nuts
1-2 tablespoons honey (or other sweetener you prefer)
2 cups very hot water (nearly boiling)

After you soak the nuts overnight, strain and place the nuts in a blender. Heat 2 cups of water until very hot, nearly boiling. Add the hot water and sweetener to the blender and puree for 1 minute.

Strain through a fine mesh sieve covered with cheesecloth. You can store this in the refrigerator to cool it down, but be sure to shake before use as the milk may slightly separate as it sits on the shelf.

I am curious, do any of you have thoughts on ways to put the nut meal (leftover after straining) to good use? Can you bake with it, or is it only good for compost? I’d love to hear your thoughts or suggestions.

You can easily double this recipe if you like. This will make 3-4 popsicles, so if you want more or if you just like having nut milk on hand for sipping or adding to coffee, then I highly recommend doubling this recipe.

Chocolate Hazelnut Milk, makes about 2 cups.

1/2 cup hazelnuts
1-2 tablespoons brown sugar (or other sweetener you prefer)
1 1/2 teaspoons cocoa
2 cups hot water (nearly boiling)

After you soak the nuts overnight, strain and place the nuts in a blender. Heat 2 cups of water until very hot, nearly boiling. Add the hot water, cocoa, and sweetener to the blender and puree for 1 minute.

Strain through a fine mesh sieve covered with cheesecloth. You can store this in the refrigerator to cool it down, but be sure to shake before use as the milk may slightly separate as it sits on the shelf.

You can easily double this recipe if you like. This will make 3-4 popsicles, so if you want more or if you just like having nut milk on hand for sipping or adding to coffee, then I highly recommend doubling this recipe.

Once your nut milks are ready, all you need is some cooked boba pearls. You can find these at many Asian markets or you can buy them here.

If you’ve never cooked boba pearls at home before—don’t worry! It’s really quite easy. You can read my method here. 

For 10-12 popsicles you’ll only need about 1/2 cup cooked boba pearls. Feel free to make more if you want to make a boba drink on the same day. 🙂

Pour the nut milks into the popsicle molds so they are 2/3 to 3/4 full, then add the sweetened boba. Freeze overnight.

This recipe is for lightly sweetened nut milk creamsicles. If you find that you want a little more sweetness, just be sure to taste the milk before pouring it into your molds, and you can easily add more sweetener and stir to dissolve. I leave your sweetness level destiny in your own hands. Enjoy! xo. Emma