We are having a bit of an Indian summer around here. So this Labor Day, I got together with my friend from Drink of the Week and made Shotsicles, or alcoholic popsicles.

Despite their clever name (thanks, husband!), Shotsicles do not contain an entire shot of alcohol. It’s more like a half ounce, or one-third of a shot, of alcohol. So don’t worry if you make these–they aren’t going to suddenly sneak up on you like jell-o shots tend to do. I mean, unless you eat a lot of them.

Shotsicles have to be low in alcohol because alcohol doesn’t freeze very well. To get them to work, you need to combine the alcohol with juices and syrups, and even then they take longer than your average pop to freeze. But they are worth the wait–sweet and delicious with a tinge of booze in the background, just enough to give the popsicle some edge.

To make a Shotsicle, you need a mold. You can use store-bought popsicle molds, of course, or you can make your own. We used small paper cups and umbrella toothpicks. Both things were lying around from a party I recently had. We poured the liquid into the cups and then put the open umbrella inside, toothpick down. The umbrella balanced the toothpick in the center of the liquid while it froze, like so:

To eat, we tore off the cups and stripped off the umbrella part. Then we held the Shotsicle by the toothpick.

We tried two Shotsicle recipes, one slightly tweaked from The Bitten Word and the other made up from scratch. Here they are:

Melon Tequila Shotsicles

Ingredients

2 c melon juice. We used a crane melon, which is like cantaloupe.
1/8 c or 1 oz tequila
1/8 c or 1 oz midori

Directions:

Puree the melon in a food processor and drain off the juice. (I saved the puree for ice cream.) Mix the juice with the liquor. Taste the mixture. If you like it a bit stronger, add one more tablespoon of tequila. Pour into molds and freeze for 5-8 hours until firm.

Chocolate Bourbon Shotsicles
From The Bitten Word

Ingredients

1/2 c sugar
3 1/2 oz chocolate chips
2 Tbs cocoa powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 c or 1 oz bourbon
2 c water
2 Tbs finely chopped mint leaves

Directions:

Combine sugar, chocolate, cocoa powder, salt, and water into a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring all the while. Transfer the mixture to another container, preferably one that lends itself to easy pouring, and let the mixture cool until it is room temperature, about a half hour. Stir in the bourbon and chopped mint leaves. Pour into molds and freeze for 5-8 hours until firm.

Mmmm minty bourbon-y fudge cycles…