Now that it is May and spring has finally decided to come around, ice cream is — once again — becoming the snack of choice.  Whether you’re eating it at home or making the trip to Bubbling Brook, there’s no difference: we all scream for ice cream.

Even though any kind of ice cream is enjoyable, do you ever get a little tired of the same, ordinary flavor that’s been sitting in your freezer all week?  And then when you decide to go out for more variety, you realize you’re either too lazy or too broke to do so.  But there’s no need to fret because there is a very simple three-word solution to this summertime dilemma: Ice Cream Pops.  Ice cream pops take the long-time favorite dessert of ice cream and turn it into a new and exciting treat.

Now, what are ice cream pops you might ask?  Well, all that matters is that it’s ice cream, but better.  Basically you’re getting everything you love about ice cream, plus all the extra toppings you normally get from a sundae.  For these specific ice cream pops, I made them with peanut butter and chocolate; however, the more familiar you get with making this snack, the more creative you can be.

To make this snack, I used vanilla ice cream, peanut butter, chocolate syrup, and chocolate chips.  Also, I needed to use small paper cups and popsicle sticks (this size of the cup is up to you depending on how big you want your ice cream pops to be).

To start, scoop the ice cream into one of the paper cups, so it is about half full.  Next, smooth the ice cream in order to get it as flat as possible; I used a spoon to do so and found that it was sufficient.  Then, take about half a spoonful of peanut butter, spread it on top of the ice cream and make sure to have it as smooth and flat as possible.  However, don’t be too much of a perfectionist here, for if you take too long, the ice cream will make the peanut butter too cold and it will not stick.

The next step is to pour chocolate syrup on the peanut butter; pour just enough to cover the peanut butter.  Since the syrup is not solid, things will start to get messy here, but don’t worry, it will work out in the end.  Next, fill the rest of the cup with to the rim with ice cream and smooth it out as flat as possible.  Lastly, I pressed chocolate chips into the top to add just a little more chocolate.  Now all you have to do is stick a popsicle stick through the center of the cup and place the pop in the freezer.

At this point, you’re done with the recipe, but the hardest part – waiting – is still left.  Make sure to keep the pops in the freezer for at least a few hours to ensure everything is frozen and won’t fall apart once you take them out.

Once the waiting is done, take the pops out of the freezer and begin to peel off the paper.  This task should be rather easy since everything is frozen; however, if it isn’t, make sure do peel the paper off over a plate to ensure you don’t make a mess.  Now you are done and can enjoy this new and improved way to eat ice cream.