Apricot Rice Pudding Pops | view more Recipe

Apricot Rice Pudding Pops

'1 cup whole milk', '3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons canned unsweetened coconut milk', '1/4 cup heavy cream', '1 lemongrass stalk, tough outer layer removed, thinly sliced', '1 tablespoons minced peeled ginger', '1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise', '3 tablespoons short-grain rice (such as arborio)', '1/4 cup 1/4" pieces dried apricots', '1/4 cup sugar', 'Ingredient info: Unsweetened coconut milk is available at many supermarkets. Lemongrass can be found at Asian markets and some supermarkets.', '8 ice-pop molds; 8 ice-pop sticks'

Combine milk, coconut milk, cream, lemongrass, ginger, and 1/2 cup water in a medium saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Bring to a boil; remove from heat, cover, and let steep for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, place rice and 1/2 cup water in a small bowl; let stand for 10 minutes (to soften and release some starch). Drain. Strain coconut-milk mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium saucepan. Add rice; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer (do not stir or rice will become too starchy) until rice is very tender, 30-35 minutes. Let cool slightly. Stir in apricots and sugar. Divide mixture among ice-pop molds. Freeze until beginning to set, 30-45 minutes. Insert a stick into each pop. Freeze until firm, about 1 hour longer. DO AHEAD: Pops can be made 2 weeks ahead. Keep frozen.