Cake, Batter, and Bowl

Cherry Lemonade

Drinks

During the winter months, I love to curl up on the couch with a big mug of hot chocolate. I always crave a little something sweet after dinner, but try not to have any heavy desserts on weekdays since I have a hard time resisting snacking on treats at work like those crazy addicting Trader Joe-Joe’s Vanilla Sandwich Crème Cookies. Sometimes I enjoy a bowl of sugary cereal instead, but during the summer, it’s all about a tall refreshing glass of lemonade. There are so many delicious kinds available now – mango, strawberry, pomegranate, mmm. I recently had one that tops all the others. It was a delightful cherry lemonade that I picked up on a whim because it was on sale at Whole Foods.

We really only shop at Whole Foods when I need an ingredient that I can’t find anywhere else though (in this case I needed ground chicken), so to get my fix, I decided to make a batch of cherry lemonade at home. Fresh lemon juice, sweet cherries, and sugar are all you need. I even kicked it up a notch by making ice cubes that each contained a cherry in the center and stirring in some lemon slices!

Cherry Lemonade
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Lemonade:
5 cups water, divided
4 cups pitted sweet cherries (24 ounces)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup fresh lemon juice (I used 4 huge lemons)

Garnish:
12 pitted cherries
1 lemon, sliced

Directions:
Place 2 cups water, cherries, and sugar in a large pot over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes. Allow mixture to cool to room temperature, about 1 hour, then pulse in a food processor or blender for 2 to 3 minutes or until smooth. Strain with a sieve into a large pitcher, if needed (I used my Vitamix, so I didn’t have much pulp, but I’m sure I would have needed to strain it if I had used my food processor). Stir in lemon juice and remaining 3 cups water and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours or until well chilled.

Meanwhile, to make the garnish, place 1 pitted cherry in each well of an ice cube try and fill with water. Place in the freezer until the ice cubes are set, about 2 hours. Stir ice cubes and sliced lemon into the chilled cherry lemonade and serve immediately. Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition: 150 calories, 0.1g fat, 1.6g fiber, 0.9g protein per serving
Cost: $0.69 per serving

Pumpkin Martinis

I’m not much of a mixologist, but I was inspired to tend bar after seeing Erin’s recipe for pumpkin spice latte martinis – what a great idea, I didn’t even know pumpkin liqueur existed! When POM Wonderful recently offered to send samples of their new iced coffees, I...

Cucumber Cranberry Cocktails

I spent half of Saturday and all day Sunday last weekend grinding spices because we were hosting an Indian feast! I’ve been all about Indian food lately and love being able to make healthier versions of our favorite dishes at home. It’s also the perfect cuisine to...

Pomegranate Lime Rickey

I was super excited when the lovely folks at POM Wonderful asked if I would be interested in sampling their pomegranate juice a few weeks ago. I’d noticed so many great pomegranate juice recipes on the blogosphere, and couldn’t wait to try a few. The juice is really...

Blueberry Watermelon Martinis

Speaking of college, I went back to Iowa a few months ago for my 10 year reunion. Some people gave me a puzzled look when I told them where I was going, but I just smiled to myself and thought, well they don’t get it because they didn’t go to Grinnell! I think it's a...

Raspberry Mango Smoothies

My Boston blogger friend Jen, over at Beantown Baker, is hosting a very special event this month – her annual Power of Pink Challenge! Jen is an avid breast cancer fundraiser, and this month she's only posting pink recipes on her blog to help raise breast cancer...