Welcome back, strawberry season. And hellooooooooo chocolate strawberry pops!

If you haven’t been stuffing your face with fresh, just-picked, locally grown strawberries, what the heck have you been doing? Just walk by the farmers market and you’ll smell strawberries warming in the sun.

And it’s u-pick season! If you’re in the Portland area, check out this article about the best u-pick berry farms from PDX Parent.

Now, the girls and I aren’t opposed to simply eating strawberries plain by the pint. But if you’re looking for a healthy dessert your kids can help make, you’ve found it. Recipe below!

Kids in the kitchen

Peeper was so excited when I asked if she wanted to help make strawberry popsicles. Her eyes grew huge when she saw me break out the chocolate chips. And when I pulled out the sprinkles? Well, let’s just say a June afternoon was suddenly about as exciting as Christmas.

Peeper helped with just about every step (besides melting the chocolate). Poking the strawberries with the wooden stick was great practice in fine-motor skills, and she had to exercise perseverance when the strawberries kept falling off. What’s more, she had to be patient when the chocolate strawberry pops were freezing.

(Well, she displayed her version of patience, at least. She asked if the strawberry popsicles were frozen yet every 30-60 seconds.)

Helping in the kitchen helps Peeper feel important. She sees grown-ups cooking all the time, so pitching in makes her feel big, too. And she was so proud when we all tried her chocolate strawberry pops. We didn’t even have to fib when we said how delicious they tasted!

After dinner, Peeper remembered to ask for one of her handmade popsicles. She grinned as she licked, nibbled then chomped it down. When she asked for another—and another—I had no problems giving her seconds and thirds. It was just about the most healthy dessert I could imagine.

So when you drop by the farmers market or go to a u-pick strawberry patch, get an extra pint for these chocolate strawberry pops. You and your kids won’t regret it.

Chocolate Strawberry Pops

Ingredients

• 1 pint strawberries
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• toothpicks or short wooden dowels (found at the craft store—they won’t accidentally poke little fingers)
• toppings, such as sprinkles, dried coconut, crushed peanuts, or whatever you have on hand
• wax paper

Instructions

1. Wash and hull the strawberries.
2. Line a rimmed cookie sheet with wax paper
3. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler—or in a heat-safe bowl over a small pot of boiling water. Stir often as it melts.
4. Poke the strawberries with the toothpicks. Dip into the melted chocolate.
5. Place the chocolate-covered strawberries on the wax paper.
6. Before the chocolate has completely hardened, sprinkle as many toppings on the chocolate as you like.
7. Freeze for 30-60 minutes until hardened.
8. Enjoy!