Blueberry Cheesecake Popsicles

If you’ve been following the news, or go on Facebook, or live anywhere besides the bottom of the ocean, you know it’s been a rough week for this country. Every morning it seems we wake up to some new headline worse than the last. Gun violence appears to be at an all-time high, and race relations feel as strained as they’ve ever been since the Civil Rights Movement. People are literally killing each other in the streets on a daily basis. I don’t know whether I want to read everything about it or nothing at all. This week, I feel deeply grieved for my country, and am hard pressed to hang on to hope for its future.

So, frankly, I feel a little glib writing a post about popsicles.

I wish there was something I could write that would change the state of affairs in our country, but I doubt I have anything to say that hasn’t already been said to much larger audiences than mine on Twitter, Facebook, or from the White House. So maybe popsicles are something wholesome and innocent we might as well enjoy in the midst of the world going crazy. I’m reminded of the scene from Mad Men where copywriter Peggy Olson gives a meaningful pitch to her clients that takes them back to the simple pleasure of a popsicle:

Of course, I don’t mean to say that if we all just eat popsicles and sing Kumbayah, the world’s problems will melt away. There are other things I intend to do in the midst of this national crisis, like pray, vote, live my own life and raise my children to live in a way that promotes peace. If you have any other suggestions, I’d sure like to hear them.

And, on a lighter note, these creamy blueberry cheesecake treats really are especially delicious. If in the summer heat, you’re craving a little something sweet that comes without too high a calorie price tag, one of these will do the trick. I hope it brightens your day.

“So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun.” –Ecclesiastes 8:15

Blueberry Cheesecake Popsicles
A Love Letter to Food Original Recipe

Ingredients:

5 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt
1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. half and half or milk
2/3 c. blueberries
1/2 c. crushed graham cracker crumbs

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, mix cream cheese and yogurt with an immersion blender (or a hand mixer would probably work, too) until smooth. Stir in powdered sugar, then half and half. Add blueberries and mix until incorporated to your liking.
2. Pour mixture into popsicle molds and sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs. Freeze at least two hours.

Makes 12 small popsicles.