Now that it's May I believe I've restrained myself long enough and can start sharing ice cream and popsicle recipes with you without someone raising their eyebrows. And first on the list are these easy-to-make Chocolate Chocolate Chip Pudding Pops. One bite (or lick) and you just know summer is on it's way!!

Are you a pudding pop fan? That rich creamy coolness--Love it!! Now, buying them from the store is easy, but I promise you that they won't taste half as good as these homemade ones!! Plus, when you buy them readymade you can't control the ingredients and if you've ever read the side of a popsicle box and seen all the artificial stuff that's in them...let's just say you won't mind the 20 or so minutes it takes to put these together. And since these are only made with a few basic ingredients, it's very likely that you've got everything you need right in the house, making that run to the market absolutely unnecessary!!

Here's where I should give you the hard sell and say, "Make these tonight!" but I think I'll let the picture just do its work. Drooling yet?!!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Pudding Pops

Makes about 8-9 standard popsicles

Prep Time:  About 15 minutes to make the pudding and then several hours of freezing time for the pops to set up

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 1/2 cups 2% milk (you could also use whole or even 1 %--using lower fat milk will just make the pops a little less creamy)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• About 1/4-1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

The Recipe

1.  In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and cocoa powder until well combined. Add in the milk and whisk again. Heat over medium heat, whisking every now and then until the mixture comes to a simmer and begins to thicken. Then let cook, stirring constantly for about 2 more minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla and butter. Transfer the mixture to a heatproof bowl and put the bowl in the fridge for about 20 minutes to cool the mixture a bit.

2.  Place some chocolate chips in the bottom of each popsicle mold. Pour a bit of the cooled pudding into each mold and then sprinkle some chips on top. Divide the rest of the pudding evenly between the molds and sprinkle on some more chocolate chips.

3.  Freeze for at least 4-5 hours and preferably overnight. Run the molds under hot water to unmold and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Note:  Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com. I used lower fat milk and tinkered with some of the directions as well.