This drink is essentially a pumped up version of lemonade. I love strawberries, so anything that uses them is most always a winner in my book. Not only does this lemonade get elevated by a sweet strawberry syrup, it’s also got just a hint of fizz which really takes it over the top. The sweet strawberries help balance the tart lemons, and the two together create an ideal summer drink that everyone can enjoy. The sugared rim isn’t necessary, but I love the bit of whimsy it adds. Even though summers here are excruciatingly hot, we seem to spend a ton of time outside. This drink is perfect to have for cookouts, and I can almost guarantee it will disappear in no time. We made it for a cookout yesterday, and it was a big hit. In fact, I’ll make a double batch next time so that there’s more strawberry lemonade goodness to go around.

If lemonade isn’t your thing, this blackberry limeade is my other favorite summer drink.

This weekend is Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial start of summer. That means grilling, outdoor parties and lots of frozen drinks. I’ve got plenty of drink recipes to share with you over the next couple of months, but I wanted to share this one today so that you can make it this weekend. Many of you likely have a four day weekend coming up, and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate than with piña coladas.

I know, I know – you can buy piña colada mix at any store. Making them fresh, though, yields a much tastier beverage and one that you can customize to your heart’s content. This recipe originally called for light or dark rum, but I substituted coconut rum. This is a tropical drink, after all! I think it would be fantastic with pineapple rum, too. Since I love coconut in all of its various forms, I topped my drink with a healthy dose of toasted coconut. If you don’t really like the texture of coconut, you could just use it to rim the glasses. This is just as easy to whip together as any frozen or bottled mix, and it tastes a hundred times better. This drink goes well with just about anything you can cook outside, so fire up the grill and enjoy a nice, frosty beverage while you’re cooking.

Piña Coladas
Makes 2 large or 4 small

Ingredients:
2/3 cup rum of your choice
1/2 cup cream of coconut
1 cup pineapple juice
About 4 cups crushed ice
Toasted coconut and/or pineapple slices for garnish, optional

Directions:
Chill 2 large or 4 small cocktail glasses. Combine rum, cream of coconut, pineapple juice and ice in a blender. Blend at high speed for about 30 seconds, until smooth. Pour into chilled glasses, garnish as desired and serve immediately.

Source: The Complete Book of Mixed Drinks

One thing I love about summer is that it brings out my urge to make fruity drinks. While I enjoy making new flavors of margaritas (which I considered doing the night I made this), sometimes I just want a simple drink that everyone can enjoy. Enter this blackberry limeade. It’s so refreshing and is sure to be a hit on a hot summer day. The thing I really like about this limeade is that it has a perfect balance of sweet and tart. And how could anyone resist its beautiful color? The only change I made was decreasing the amount of sugar based on the sweetness of my blackberries, which is why I’ve included a range in the recipe. This drink is perfect for summer and would be great to serve during a backyard cookout or any other outdoor gathering.

Eric and I downed our fair share of Sonic cherry limeades when we were in college, so we’re used to drinking limeades that are fizzy. We both loved this one and have made it twice, but I’m curious to see how it would taste when made with sparkling water. I think the effervescence would add a nice touch to this drink, and I promise to report back if my attempt is successful. :)

Blackberry Limeade
Serves 8

Ingredients:
6 cups water, divided
3 cups fresh blackberries
3/4 to 1 cup sugar
2/3 cup fresh lime juice
Lime wedges and fresh blackberries, for serving

Directions:
Blend the blackberries and 1 cup of water together until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a pitcher. Add the remaining 5 cups of water, sugar and lime juice to the pitcher. Stir until sugar dissolves. Pour into ice-filled glasses and garnish each with a lime wedge and a few blackberries, if desired.

Slightly adapted from My Recipes

Summertime is one of my favorite times of year. I hate the heat, but I love the carefree feeling that comes along with summer. Weekends spent working on outdoor projects, lots of grilling and cookouts with friends, visitors from back home (it helps that the past two places we’ve lived are near major tourist destinations), longer days, popsicles, etc. Summer kind of makes me feel like a kid again, and sometimes I miss being out of school and having the entire summer to play. However, one perk of growing up is that I get to enjoy fabulous adult drinks such as this one. I love mangoes and often use them in smoothies, which means my freezer is always stocked with them. A few weeks ago, Eric and I were having a Tex-Mex type dinner and decided on a whim to make margaritas. We’ve been enjoying this recipe ever since, and I think it would be perfect for the upcoming long weekend.

This recipe is pretty straight forward – mango, tequila, ice, lime juice – and it can be adapted to suit your personal tastes. We’ve successfully made it with strawberries, and I’m hoping to try it with pineapple soon. The mango (or whatever fruit you use) is the most dominant flavor, but the tequila doesn’t get lost. The tart lime juice helps bring out the drink’s fruity flavor and keeps it from tasting too sweet. Of course, the best thing about margaritas is enjoying them with friends. This weekend would be a great time to do so, and I completely understand if you want to test out the recipe this week before making it for party guests. :)

Frozen Mango Margaritas
Serves 2

Ingredients:
Lime wedges for rimming
Coarse salt and/or sugar for rimming
3 ounces silver tequila
1 1/2 ounces triple sec
1 cup crushed ice
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
2 teaspoons sugar
2 cups frozen mango chunks

Directions:
Moisten the rim of two margarita glasses with a lime wedge and roll in salt, sugar or a mixture of both. Combine the remaining ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Check for consistency and add more ice or mango if needed. If using fresh mango, you will likely need closer to 2 cups of ice. Pour mixture into prepared glasses and serve immediately.

Adapted from The Complete Book of Mixed Drinks

When I hosted my tropical themed dinner party back in January, one of the menu items I was most looking forward to was this drink. In fact, this drink is what inspired the theme for the party. There’s something ironic about drinking from a coconut when it’s not even 40º outside, but the whole point of the party was to make everyone forget about the cold weather, and this drink did exactly that. Plus, I simply can’t resist the combination of coconut and pineapple. Now that it’s warm outside, I think this would be perfect for summer entertaining. Coconut and drink umbrella optional.

This drink is a prime example of the tiki cocktail, but you don’t have to be at the beach to enjoy its fun, summery flavors. I adore piña coladas, and this is basically a fancy version of that poolside favorite. The original recipe had both light and gold rum, but I substituted coconut rum in place of the light rum. I liked the extra burst of coconut flavor, but I think the drink would still have plenty even without the coconut rum. I just happened to have coconut rum and gold rum on hand and didn’t want to buy another type. The pineapple and lime juices add brightness and a hint of acidity that prevent the drink from being overly sweet. I can’t wait for summer so that we can enjoy more of these (and other fruity, tropical drinks).

Luau Coconut
Makes 2 drinks

Ingredients:
1/4 cup sugar
2 young coconuts
1/2 cup coconut water
1/4 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
1/4 cup coconut rum
1/4 cup gold rum
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons pineapple juice
Ice cubes
2 lime slices (for garnish, optional)
2 maraschino cherries (for garnish, optional)

Directions:
Make simple syrup by cooking sugar and 1/4 cup water over medium high heat until sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool. Meanwhile, make your coconut cups (if using) by chopping off the top 2 inches of the coconuts. Side note: I cut off a little too much this time, but I kind of like the look of the exposed shell. Using the area of your knife near the handle, whack the coconut to crack the shell. Pry the top off and pour the coconut water into a bowl.

In a large cocktail shaker, combine coconut water, coconut milk, rums, and lime and pineapple juices. Fill with ice and shake vigorously until well chilled. Divide evenly into 2 coconuts (no need to strain). Garnish each with a lime slice and cherry, if desired. Serve immediately.

Adapted from Bon Appétit, January 2011

My friend Kelsey is getting married in just under two weeks, and Amy decided to host a virtual bridal shower for her! Kelsey is such a sweetheart, and I’m so excited for her to begin this new part of her life. :) I wanted to make something extra celebratory, but I had a hard time deciding what exactly that would be. I knew I wanted something fun and feminine and finally settled on bellinis. After all, what’s a bridal shower without something fun to drink? I love that these are bright and festive, and it doesn’t hurt that they taste fantastic, too.

Authentic bellinis are made with white peaches and Prosecco, but many people associate the name with any drink made up of fruit purée and sparkling wine. I decided to make both strawberry and peach bellinis for this virtual shower, but you can use almost any fruit you want. I think mangoes and blackberries would also make wonderful bases for the drink. Bellinis are perfect for parties because they’re simple, gorgeous and delicious. You can even make the fruit purée the day before, making these one of the easiest party drinks ever. Flavor-wise, I preferred the strawberry to the peach, which came as no surprise since I would pick strawberries over peaches any day. However, this sentiment might not have been true had I been able to find white peaches. Since they aren’t in season here, I knew I would be unable to find fresh, but I was hoping I would be able to find frozen. No such luck, though. If you can find white peaches, use them. They’re sweeter (and more flavorful, in my opinion) than regular peaches. I still really enjoyed both flavors, and I loved the way the slightly sweetened fruit mixed in with the Prosecco to make a fun, tasty and refreshing drink. If you want to set up a bellini bar, sake the purées ahead of time and place them in small pitchers. Place on a table or bar with different types of sparkling wine and let guests create their own. If you need a nonalcoholic version, sparkling water or sparkling apple cider can be used, too.

Kelsey, I’m so excited for you and M! I hope your big day is exactly what you hope for, and I wish you two all the happiness in the world. :)

Sadly, we couldn’t have this party in person. However, Kelsey and Amy have both posted a full roundup of our fun event, and I really hope you’ll check out their blogs to see the full shower menu.

Strawberry and Peach Bellinis
Ingredients:
For the peach purée:
1 pound peaches, thawed if frozen (Use white if possible.)
1/2 cup simple syrup
1/3 cup water
For the strawberry purée:
1 pound strawberries, thawed if frozen
1/3 cup simple syrup
1/3 cup water
For the bellinis:
4 bottles of Proessco, Champagne or other sparkling wine
Fresh strawberries and peaches, for garnish

Directions:
In a blender, process peaches until broken down. Add water and simple syrup and continue blending until mixture is smooth. Taste and add more simple syrup if needed. Rinse out blender, then repeat process with strawberries. Strain strawberries through a fine mesh strainer to remove seeds. Store purées in airtight containers in the refrigerator. Can be made a day in advance.

To make the bellinis, add 2 tablespoons of fruit purée to the bottom of each champagne flute. Slowly pour Prosecco over fruit and gently stir to combine. Garnish with fresh fruit as desired and serve immediately.

Makes about 16 bellinis

Adapted from Serious Eats

Last year, Eric and I went to New York City for the first time. While we were there, we ate at Serendipity 3 and had the most amazing meal. I still think about the meatloaf and mashed potatoes we ate, but the frozen hot chocolate was the most memorable item we had that night. It was unlike any dessert I’ve ever tried. While it was definitely large enough for each of us to have a generous serving, I’m pretty sure I could have downed the entire thing on my own. Seriously.

Shortly after returning from our trip, I tried unsuccessfully to replicate this delicious dessert. Unfortunately, most of the recipes I found called for store-bought hot chocolate mix, which didn’t yield the drink I remembered. I was thrilled when I found a recipe that actually called for making a mix with real chocolate and cocoa powder before turning it into frozen hot chocolate. I used a blend of bittersweet and semisweet chocolate, but I think semisweet on its own would work just fine. The flavor of this will greatly depend on the quality of chocolate you use, and I recommend using the best chocolate you can find. I was afraid the ice would diminish the flavor of the chocolate, but this drink, despite being icy, is actually quite rich. Although I can’t remember exactly how the one I had tasted, I feel like this one is pretty close. And hey, since I can’t go to New York to have one whenever I want, this is a pretty good alternative. I think Serendipity has a couple varieties of this drink, and I can’t wait to try making it again with mint or peanut butter!

Since it’s Valentine’s Day, I want to spread a little love in the form of a $25 gift card to Bake it Pretty. They have adorable straws that would be perfect for drinking this frozen hot chocolate, and I especially love their sprinkles and cupcake liners. To enter the giveaway, leave a comment on this post telling me about the most memorable dessert you’ve ever had. The Rules: One entry per person, U.S. residents only. The giveaway will close on Tuesday, February 15 at 11:59 pm, EST. Please make sure to leave a valid email address so that I can contact you if you win. One winner will be randomly chosen and announced on Friday. I can’t wait to read your responses! Good luck and happy Valentine’s Day from me to you!

Frozen Hot Chocolate
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon Dutch-process cocoa powder
3 tablespoons sugar
4 1/2 ounces chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups milk
3 cups ice
freshly whipped cream and grated chocolate for serving, optional

Directions:
Combine butter, cocoa powder and sugar in a small bowl set over a small pot of simmering water. Whisk until a paste forms. Add chocolate and continue whisking until chocolate melted completely. Gradually whisk in 1/2 cup of milk. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Once chocolate mixture has cooled, combine it with ice and remaining 1 cup of milk in a blender. Blend until ice is crushed and mixture is thoroughly blended. Do not over blend, as the texture should be somewhat icy. Top with whipped cream and grated chocolate, if desired. Serve immediately.

Makes 2 generous servings

Heavily adapted from La Belle Cuisine

I am a big fan of peppermint white mochas. In fact, once the cool weather comes around, that’s pretty much the only espresso drink I want. They just seem so festive, and I can’t resist the peppermint and white chocolate combination. Since we have an espresso maker at home, it seems silly to always run out to a coffee shop whenever the craving hits. Since not much was going on here Sunday, I decided to make peppermint simple syrup so that I can have peppermint white mochas whenever I want. This is both a good and very bad thing.

Simple syrup is just that – simple. Once you know how to make it, you can pretty much make any flavor you want. I love making things on a whim, and this was definitely one of those things. Eric and I were enjoying peppermint white mochas shortly after I decided to make the syrup. Gotta love that! You only need three ingredients – sugar, water and peppermint extract. I started with a 1/2 teaspoon of extract, which wasn’t strong enough, so I increased it to 1 teaspoon. I also added some candy cane pieces to give it that pretty pink color, but that’s certainly not necessary.

I was unsure about storage and looked up how to store simple syrup. From what I’ve read, it seems best to refrigerate syrup made with a 1:1 ratio of sugar to water (apparently more sugar gives it a more stable shelf life, so 2:1 simple syrup could be stored in the pantry). I’ve read it can be kept from one month to up to six months, but I don’t think you’ll have any problem using it in a month’s time. At the rate I’m using it, I’ll probably be making more next week. If espresso drinks aren’t your thing, I think this would be great in a martini or mixed with club soda, too.

Peppermint Simple Syrup
Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
1/2 teaspoon candy cane pieces, optional

Directions:
In a small saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and stir constantly until sugar is dissolved. Stir in the peppermint extract and candy cane pieces, if using. Cool to room temperature and store in a glass bottle in the refrigerator. To make the peppermint (white) mocha, combine one shot of espresso with 2 tablespoons peppermint syrup, 1 tablespoon chocolate or white chocolate sauce and desired amount of milk. Top with whipped cream and candy cane pieces, if desired.

Cook Like a Champion original, inspired by one of my favorite Starbucks drinks

Butterbeer, for those who don’t know, is a favorite drink of young witches and wizards.  While there’s enough alcohol in it to make a house elf drunk, there’s not enough to do the same to humans.  The butterbeer at Wizarding World was not made with alcohol, for obvious reasons.  Also, it was taste-tested by J.K. Rowling herself.  Pretty cool, right?  This butterbeer tastes very much like a cream soda, with notes of butterscotch in the background.  Like the kind at Wizarding World, it has a slightly slushy texture.  However, the really fun part about it is the foamy topping.  The frozen butterbeer at Wizarding World comes from a tap, with a separate tap dispensing the foamy topping.  Having a butterbeer mustache is something to be proud of, so skip the straws when drinking this drink.  ;)

Looking for more Harry Potter recipes to celebrate the premiere of Deathly Hallows this week? Come back tomorrow for another magical treat!

Frozen Butterbeer
Ingredients:
For the butterbeer:
1 1/2 cups cream soda
6 tablespoons butterscotch schnapps
2 cups ice
For the foamy topping:
6 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon butterscotch schnapps

Directions:
Combine cream soda, schnapps and ice in a blender. Blend until slushy. Pour into a glass or mug. In a small bowl, combine heavy cream and schnapps. Using an electric mixer, whisk together until almost whipped. You want the cream mixture to be slightly loose, not as firm as whipped cream. Top the butterbeer with the foamy topping and serve immediately.

Serves 2

Cook Like a Champion original

It’s been almost a month since pumpkin spice lattes made their seasonal debut. Like so many others, I get more than excited when they come out every year. However, getting them frequently can become an expensive and unhealthy habit. You can easily make them at home, though, which at least helps with the expensive part. While it may not be healthy, this version is made with all natural ingredients, which has to make it at least somewhat healthier than the Starbucks version.

As far as taste goes, this is unbelievable. It tastes like fall in a glass. I’ve made the syrup two times now, and I adapted it just a bit the second time by increasing the amount of pumpkin and nutmeg and reducing the amount of cinnamon. I prefer nutmeg over cinnamon, so I changed the recipe to suit my tastes. Feel free to adapt this how you like – with more or less spices. Either way you make it will be delicious, and you may even kick your Starbucks habit.

Pumpkin Spice Syrup
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 cinnamon sticks
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 tablespoons pumpkin purée

Directions:

Combine water and sugar in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar has completely dissolved. Add the cinnamon sticks, then whisk in remaining ingredients. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, but do not let the mixture come to a boil (reduce heat if necessary). Remove from heat and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Strain syrup through cheesecloth into an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator.

To make a pumpkin spice latte, simply add about 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of syrup for each shot of espresso. For an iced latte, stir together syrup and espresso before adding desired amount of cold milk. For a hot latte, add about 5 ounces of steamed milk and stir to combine. Taste and adjust syrup accordingly. Top with whipped cream.

Update: Thanks to some of the commenters, I’ve since started making this using cinnamon sticks. Using them results in a much smoother texture, and the end product is not as thick. I’ve updated the recipe to include this change.

*This recipe actually filled up the jar pictured.  It was so good that I had used most of it before I remembered to take a picture!

Adapted from Sugarcrafter

In celebration of World Nutella Day, I have two wonderful chocolate and hazelnut recipes. This wonderful event is hosted by the ladies of Bleeding Espresso and Ms. Adventures in Italy. I’d also like to take this time to thank my friend Islara for introducing me to Nutella. She also introduced me to Eric, so I have a lot of reasons to be thankful for her. ;)

The first recipe is this absolutely divine chocolate hazelnut gelato. This gelato tastes like a cold Ferrero Rocher. It’s smooth and flavorful. I decided to add some instant espresso to the custard before churning, and I promise you the espresso just makes the chocolate and hazelnut flavors pop even more. I also took the advice of some of the reviewers and reduced the amount of sugar I used. I think the level of sweetness was perfect. After all, the Nutella adds quite a bit of sweetness on its own.

If you like Nutella, you will love this gelato.

Chocolate Hazelnut Gelato
Ingredients:
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup, plus 1/4 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup Nutella
1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts, crushed, for garnish

Directions:
-In a saucepan combine the milk, cream, and 1/3 cup sugar over medium heat.
-Cook until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.
-Meanwhile, in a medium bowl whip the egg yolks with the remaining sugar using an electric mixer until the eggs have become thick and pale yellow, about 4 minutes.
-Pour 1/2 cup of the warm milk and cream mixture into the egg mixture and stir.
-Add this mixture back into the saucepan.
-Cook over very low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 7 to 10 minutes.
-Place a strainer over a medium bowl and pour the warm custard mixture through the strainer.
-Stir in the vanilla and hazelnut spread until it dissolves.
-Chill mixture completely before pouring into an ice cream maker and follow manufacturer’s instructions to freeze.
-To serve, scoop gelato into serving bowls and top with hazelnuts.

The second recipe is for Chocolate Hazelnut Gelato Coolers. These are just as good as the gelato, and the have Kahlua in them, which makes them even better! We added a splash of milk to ours to get it to the perfect consistency. We made these the night after making the gelato. I was worried about the gelato being too icy after freezing overnight, but it was fine. You might just want to add a little less ice.

Chocolate Hazelnut Gelato Coolers
Ingredients:
2 cups Chocolate-Hazelnut Gelato, recipe follows
1/2 cup coffee-flavored liqueur or coffee
4 cups crushed ice
1/4 cup chopped chocolate-covered coffee beans, plus more for garnish, optional

Directions:
-Combine all the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.
-Pour into glasses, sprinkle with chocolate covered coffee beans, and serve with a straw.

Source: Giada De Laurentiis

Directions:
-Peel all the skins off of the lemons. Only the yellow part should be peeled.
-Add the lemon peels to the alcohol, and keep for 3 to 4 days in a cool place.
-Once the alcohol has been infused with the lemon peels, remove the peels from the alcohol.
-In a separate bowl or glass container, mix the sugar and water together.
-Add the infused alcohol to the sugar and water mixture. This will turn a beautiful bright yellow color.
-Keep the limoncello in the freezer. Serve it with any dessert or special occasion.

Source: Food Network

Cranberry Infused Vodka
Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
2 cups fresh or frozen and thawed cranberries
1 fifth good quality vodka (We used Grey Goose.)

Directions:
-In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the sugar and water.
-Bring the mixture to a boil, tilting and swirling the pan occasionally.
-Lower heat and continue to cook, swirling occasionally, until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture is slightly thickened (about 5 minutes).
-Remove the pan from the heat.
-Stir in the cranberries and set pan aside for 2 hours.
-Transfer the cranberry mixture to a large covered bowl, jar or canister and add vodka (retain the bottle for later use.)
-Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 days, stirring occasionally.
-If you don’t have room in the refrigerator, keep in a cool, dark place.
-Strain the vodka into a large pitcher, reserving the cranberries.
-Using a funnel, pour the vodka back into the bottle.
-Place the bottle in the freezer until ready to serve.
-Keep the cranberries in the freezer, but defrost prior to serving (they defrost quickly).
-To serve, fill chilled shot glasses or rocks glasses with the vodka.
-Add a few cranberries to each. Serve immediately.

Source: The Nibble