Coca-Cola Ice Cream Pops

I love original Coke. Full sugar, high octane, red and white iconic Coca-Cola. Sparkling bubbles in a tall glass filled with ice cubes twisted from a tray, it was the beverage that adults got to drink whenever they wanted and my dad would sip with his big bowl of popcorn on the weekend in front of some sport on TV or burrowed into a book. Us kids got it on special occasions—usually holidays, and it was nirvana.

Now that I'm an adult and have a self-inflicted rule about not drinking my calories (except wine, beer, gin and the occasional tequila because there are no food equivalents of these staples), the closest I get is the diet, caffeine-free variety. 

But if you FREEZE a beverage then it becomes a food and fits fine in my rulebook. That's what I've done here—mixed Coke with good vanilla ice cream and frozen it on a stick. Simple and pops with the flavor of creamy Coke. 

I threw in a totally unnecessary layer of peanut fudge in these bars that I think detracts from the great flavor of cola and ice cream. My attempt to mimic Buster Bars from DQ.  If you want to go that route, find the fudge recipe here, decrease the chocolate by 1/2 cup and bump up the quantity of peanuts and salt. You need to wait for each layer to firm up before you add the next, so it's a lot fussier, but it's good fudge. 

Coca-Cola Ice Cream Pops

Makes four 9 ounce pops

8 ounces original Coca-Cola (Mexican style if you can get it)

2 cups premium vanilla ice cream (I like Breyer's)
4 nine-ounce paper cups (or smaller size and you'll get more)
4 wooden sticks

Pour Coke into a bowl or blender pitcher and let it go flat. Processing will speed this along. 

Set ice cream out to soften a bit, then add to Coke. Blend to combine. Pour into cups (paper are easiest as you can just peel them open) and cover tops with plastic wrap. Set in freezer for a half hour then put in sticks. Freeze for at least four hours and preferably overnight.