My biggest regret in life is not eating more popsicles in these twenty five years of living. When I stop to think of all the frozen pops I could’ve been eating all these years, I get sad. It saddens me. I might even start to cry a little. A single tear from my left eye falls to the ground. In a slow dramatic way, too. Popsicles do that to me. What, have I been living under a rock or something? I obviously haven’t been thinking clearly. My mind has been somewhere else. Perhaps on ice cream. Not that I blame myself, because ice cream happens to be unbelievably delicious. But popsicles, popsicles are even better. Personal frozen treats that you can take with you on the go. Individual chilled desserts that you can use as a microphone while you sing out loud at the top of your lungs, like no one is watching. Like you don’t even care.
I’ve made it a personal goal of mine to make and eat as many popsicles as humanly possible this summer. It’s taken something incredibly awesome like Popsicle Week to deter me from my wrongful ways. Those wrongful ways being, the serious lack of popsicles in my life. But that’s all about to change because I’m on the brink of going full on obsessed with popsicles from this day on. We’re starting with these horchata pops because I’m a sucker for anything loaded with cinnamon.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with horchata (you really should be), it’s a delicious drink made of rice and cinnamon. Think rice pudding but in drink form without all of the chunky rice. It’s served chilled and over ice. Perfect on a hot summer’s day. I’m not doing the drink justice so I’ll just let you experience the amazing taste of it for yourself with these popsicles. Hint hint. And for those of your who are familiar with it, let’s go out and celebrate with a few of these frozen pops. I promise to share.
Let’s have a real discussion for a second, shall we? I want to get personal with you. I’ve never made horchata before. Other than the basic facts that it’s made with rice and has my all time favorite spice in it, cinnamon, I had no other knowledge of it. It’s a drink, yeah. It’s delicious, okay. That’s as far as it goes. So I had to do a bit of research and I found out that it’s not even made with any milk! (What the what!) Authentic horchata has no dairy in it, but that wasn’t going to work for me with these pops because I wanted them to be thick and creamy, like ice cream, so I cheated a bit and added some dairy. Sue me.
Pour the rice into a large bowl, and add a couple of cinnamon sticks.
Pour in the sweetened condensed milk (shhhh), and the heavy cream (Don’t give me that, these aren’t authentic look) and some hot water. Give it a stir and allow to sit, covered, for about 1 hour, or until completely cooled to room temperature.
**Note: It’s important that the rice sit in the hot water, condensed milk, cream and cinnamon sticks. It’s essential to the flavor and taste of the pops. The heat from the water will waken up the cinnamon sticks and begin to infuse the liquid and rice with the spice.**
Once the mixture has cooled down, remove the rice (with a slotted spoon), and place it into a blender or food processor. Reserve the milk liquid for later.
**Tip: You can add a bit of the liquid to help the rice blend more smoothly.**
Blend until completely smooth. You might have to stop the blender or processor and give it a mix with a spoon to ensure it’s all blended perfectly. Go for about 3 minutes.
**Note: The rice mixture will be very thick and creamy. That’s okay! It’s the starch in the rice that makes it thick.**
Pour in the reserved milk liquid back into the puréed rice, and blend once more until well combined. Pour the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl or pitcher. You might have to help the liquid through the sieve with a spoon. You’ll have a lot of pulp (or rice gunk) left over in the sieve. Toss it.
**Tip: You can run the horchata liquid a few times through the sieve if you want it super smooth. One time was enough for me, mostly because I was lazy to keep doing it. But you can decide what you’d like!**
Once all the rice gunk has been sifted out, you’re almost ready to freeze the mixture into pops. Almost. The last step is to sprinkle in the cinnamon and add the vanilla extract. Give it a stir and then pour the mixture into a popsicle mold.
**Tip: Don’t have a popsicle mold? You can pour the mixture into small paper cups, freeze halfway and then insert the wooden popsicle sticks. Continue to freeze until fully frozen.**
Depending on the size of your mold, you might have some horchata leftover. You can totally chill it in the fridge and serve it over ice to drink!
Freeze the popsicles for at least 4 hours or until completely frozen.
Once ready to serve, run the bottom of the mold under warm water for a few seconds to help you loosen the popsicles. They should slide out easily after that. You can sprinkle the pops with a bit of ground cinnamon right before eating, for optimum cinnamon flavor. 
If you feel like being really incredibly awesome, you can add a small splash of rum to the horchata before freezing. Don’t tell anyone and then you can enjoy some boozy pops all by yourself. Just keep in mind that you can’t add a lot of rum because then the pops won’t freeze all the way because of the alcohol. A tablespoon or two will work perfectly!
Next time you’re in the mood for a delicious cinnamony (yes cinnamony) frozen treat, give these a try. They’re really easy to make. Enjoy!
I just wanted to take a moment to thank my friend Billy (From Wit and Vinegar) for organizing another amazing popsicle week! Thanks Billy! He’s kind of the bee’s knees and knows how to throw a party. If you’re in the mood for even more delicious popsicles—which I just know you are—you need to check out the rest of the recipes, from some awesome fellow food bloggers. Get the full #popsicleweek list here. It’s updated daily!
- 1½ cups long grain rice
- 4 cups hot water
- 1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a large bowl combine the rice, hot water, condensed milk, heavy cream, and cinnamon sticks. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit until completely cooled to room temperature, about 1 hour.
- Remove and discard cinnamon sticks. Transfer the rice, with a slotted spoon, to a blender or food processor. Reserve the liquid. Blend on high until completely smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the reserved milk liquid to the blender or food processor, with the puréed rice, and blend until completely combined, another 2 minutes.
- Pour the blended mixture through a fine mesh sieve, into a large bowl or pitcher. Use a spoon to help you pass the liquid through the sieve. There should be a rice paste left over, toss that out. Pass the liquid a few times through the sieve, if you want a smooth popsicle.
- Add the ground cinnamon and vanilla to the horchata and stir. Pour into a popsicle mold. Place the mold in the freezer for about 1 hour and then insert the wooden popsicle sticks. Return to the freezer and continue to freeze for another 3 to 4 hours, until they are completely frozen.
- When ready to eat, run the bottom of the mold under warm water to help loosen the popsicles. Serve with a sprinkling of ground cinnamon. Enjoy!
- yields: 10 popsicles
So I was going to try a new popsicle almost every day this summer but I miiiiight (read: definitely) have to eat these every day instead. Don’t tell the others. 😉
I’ll keep it a secret. Just between you and I! Hope you try these soon! Let me know what you think.
I LOVE horchata and I totally get why you had to add something creamy in there. Props for the excellent idea to add another dash of cinnamon before devouring!
I’m glad we’re on the same wavelength, Nicole! You get me.
Can you put a link to the popsicle mold that you are using? These look delicious!
Hello Nancy, I used this one from amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Norpro-423-Ice-Pop-Maker/dp/B0002IBJOG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1403725918&sr=8-2&keywords=popsicle+mold It works perfectly for me! Hope you give these a try!
Thank you!
Oh man, I love horchata so much. These are brilliant! And so pretty.
These are awesome Jonathan, love the flavors!!
these look sooooooooo good. i’ll take twenty, please.
and as always, your photography…swoon!
Me, these, yes please. And I LOVE (as per the usj) all the photos. Just super!
Thank you so much Emily!
Thank you for this recipe – my kids will love these! Your photos are stunning!
Thank you so much Heather! You’ll have to make these for your kids soon! Let me know what they think!
Love this idea! Happiest of popsicleweeks to you!
Hello Jonathan,
I’m Maria. I write from Spain, where the horchata comes from. This drink is typically made in Valencia. But it is not a drink made with rice. It is a drink made with “chufa”, water and sugar. And of course a little bit of cinnamon. I have looked “chufa” in a translation web and they translate it as “tiger nut”. Maybe you know this kind of nut.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horchata
It is a really refreshing drink and it tastes great. But it is not made with rice. We love to drink it in summer. If you have the chance, please taste it!
Regards from Spain!!
Hello Maria, Thank you for writing in! My grandparents were from Central America, where horchata is actually made with rice. All my experience of horchata has been Central American Horchata, so that’s why I’ve only had it made with rice. I’ll have to try it with “chufa” if I can get a hold of it here in the states.
Thank you!
It’s winter over here in Sydney and if cold weather ice cream existed these would tick all the boxes! You know, except for the frozen bit. Great idea Jonathan x
I totally DIE for horchata. Love love love that you thought of this flavor!!
these sound amazing!
i love horchata! i can never resist it when i’m getting tacos. this looks SO GOOD. love your photos and styling, too! ^__^
Love the look of this Jonathan! Beautiful photography as usual!
Horchata is one of those things that I’ve always read about and vaguely imagined would be delicious, but now that I’ve read your post and seen it in popsicle-action, I’m about 250% I need it in my life! Creamy rice-and-cinnamon goodness? YES. And even more amazing in a popsicle, I just bet. Thanks for introducing it — super, super excited to try this!!
horchata is sooo delicious although i have only had once. turning those into Popsicle, genius!
I must admit, I’m not on the same page as you on the ice cream versus popsicle debate (though it’s a tough call!). I am however, 100% on the horchata train, and I don’t think I’ll be able to stop thinking about these until I have my paws on about 10 of them!!
Have you had Rumchata? I was recently introduced on a vacation to Arizona. Do yourself a favor, hit up the liquor store. Buy a bottle of Rumchata and a bottle of Jaggermeister (I have no idea if I spelled that right). (If you hate Jagger like I do, don’t worry, you won’t know you’re drinking it.) Mix 2 parts chata with 1 part Jagger in a shaker with ice. Pour it into a large shot glass. Shoot that baby. It will change your life. Pinky swear.
As for these popsicles, um, yum.
should the rice be pre cooked or dry?
It should be dry, uncooked!
Thanks for clarifying!
I’ve never had horchata {there I said it} NOW I NEED TO!!
Great recipes! Question: where did you buy your popsicle mold? Thanks.
Hello Lorelei, I found mine on amazon!
can i use store-bought rice milk? i have a lot to make and not that much time!
Hello Lydia, I’ve never tried it before but I don’t see why you couldn’t! It’s basically what I’m making in the post, so you’ll be skipping ahead. I say go for it! Let me know how it turns out, I’m curious!
This is so brilliantly done. Love the detailed beautiful photos. Of course you made one tragic mistake by not mentioning that all Mexican recipes only use Ceylon Cinnamon. But looks like you did use Ceylon Cinnamon sticks. Ceylon Cinnamon would give this recipe a very sophisticated taste profile and an exotic aroma not possible with Cassia Cinnamon. It is not as harsh and slightly sweeter than Cassia Cinnamon. Besides Ceylon Cinnamon has ultra low Coumarin levels and will not damage your liver like Cassia Cinnamon. But this recipe and idea is worth a pin. Great job!
These are in the freezer now. We have a local michocana that sells some serious paletas. I was craving some tonight! Thanks for the recipe! Very thorough and I know it’s going to be super yummy.