Spicy Pineapple Paletas

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Hispanic, Latin American, Mexican

Keyword: jalapeño, paletas, pineapple, popsicles

Prep Time: 15

freezing time: 3

Total Time: 3 15

Servings: paletas

Calories: 17kcal

Honey-sweet pineapple is given a hit of heat with fresh jalapeños.

1/3 cup (80 milliliters) honey
1/3 cup (80 milliliters) water (or tequila blanco for adult-only paletas)
1 large (8 cups or 1 kilogram) pineapple peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 1/2 large jalapeño peppers
1 large lime juiced (2 tablespoons or 30 milliliters)

In a 1-quart, microwave-safe bowl, heat the honey and water together for 15 seconds on high heat.
Use a spatula or whisk to stir the two together until combined. Set this syrup aside.

Trim the stem off one of the peppers, then cut it in half across its width.
Cut one-half of the pepper into large, 1/2-inch wide chunks.
Slice the remaining half and the bottom half of the second pepper, into paper-thin slices on the diagonal. This will give you 1 1/2 peppers total for the recipe.
Reserve the thinly sliced peppers for later.

Add the chunks to the blender, seeds, and all.
Next, add the pineapple chunks to the blender. Finally, add the honey simple syrup.
Blend these for 1 minute at high speed or until it is very smooth.

Use a popsicle stick to press one or two slices of jalapeños onto the wall of each popsicle mold.
Pour the mixture into your popsicle molds after lining them with the peppers.
Fill the mold cavities with the pineapple mixture, leaving 1/8-inch headspace at the top.
Cover the molds and insert wooden popsicle sticks, leaving 1/2-inch of the stick exposed.

Freeze the paletas for a minimum of 3 hours if you're using metal molds. If you're using any other type of mold, freeze them overnight.
After freezing the paletas completely, unmold them.
Wrap each paleta in a square of wax or parchment paper immediately after removing them from the mold and set it on a small sheet pan.
After wrapping the paletas in the protective paper, place them on a sheetpan and pop them back into the freezer for 20 minutes.
Transfer the now firm paletas to a freezer storage bag. Storing paletas in freezer bags keeps them tasting fresh for as long as possible.

You can make these spicy pineapple paletas vegan by swapping out the honey and using agave syrup in its place.
Use the sweetest pineapple you can find. For unique-looking paletas, use Pink Glow or Jewel pineapples
You can omit the jalapeños from this recipe to make plain pineapple paletas that aren't spicy.
Replace the jalapeños with serrano chiles for a bit more spice.
You can sprinkle a pinch of tajín or chipotle chile powder for extra spice, or swirl in a 1/2 tablespoon of chamoy into each cavity.

Heating the honey makes it more fluid, so it doesn't solidify before the paletas ingredients have a chance to blend thoroughly
The thinly sliced jalapeños should stick to the popsicle mold's walls if they're freshly cut. If not, you can brush them with a little warmed honey to make them stick.
Dipping the paletas in a bowl of warm water makes unmolding easier. Make sure the water is warm, not hot, or it will melt the paletas.
To unmold your popsicles from silicone molds, flip the mold upside down and run warm water over the bottom.
Wrapping paletas in paper wrapping keeps the paletas from sticking together or growing ice crystals in the freezer.
Putting the unmolded paletas onto a metal sheetpan in the freezer helps them firm up again, making them less messy to package for storage.

Freeze paletas for 2 months in a freezer storage bag in the middle of the freezer to keep them from developing ice crystals every time you open the freezer door.
Always press out any air from the bag when you remove a paleta from the bag. Air will also contribute to ice crystals and a decreased flavor.