Take the sting out of this summer's heat wave with these chilling treats from Women's Day Kitchen. These recipes were originally posted on womansday.com.
Recipe: Melon granitas (on this page) Recipe: Classic lemonade (on this page) Recipe: Lemon-mint slushie (on this page) Recipe: Sparkling strawberry lemonade (on this page) Recipe: Ginger-cucumber lemonade (on this page)1. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and 1/2 cup water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer (do not stir) until the sugar dissolves, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
2. In a food processor, purée the cooled syrup and the melon until smooth. Strain into a metal loaf pan, cover and freeze until firm, 3 hours or up to 3 days.
3. When ready to serve, remove the pan from the freezer and let sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. Using a fork, scrape the surface of the melon ice to create flakes; divide among glasses.
Prep tip: For a fun family activity, shave ice in a snow cone machine (try the Hawaiian Shaved Ice Electric Snow Cone Machine, $29.95; HawaiianShavedIce.com), using the strained unfrozen melon mixture as the syrup.
Incredibly colorful and refreshing, this fruity granita is a terrific all-natural alternative to store-bought ices and sorbets. If you’re planning to serve it at a party, don’t waste time portioning it out—create a few big batches and serve them in the pan, allowing guests to scrape their own.
1. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer (do not stir) until the sugar dissolves, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
2. In a large pitcher, combine the lemon juice, cooled sugar syrup and 4 cups cold water. Taste the lemonade for tartness: If it’s too tart, add 1 to 2 cups more cold water (keep in mind that you’ll want to add ice, which will dilute the lemonade). Refrigerate until chilled.
3. Just before serving, thinly slice the lemons or cut into wedges, stir them into the lemonade and add ice.
Tip: Freeze some lemonade in ice cube trays and add the cubes to your pitcher or glasses later. Unlike regular ice cubes, these won’t dilute your lemonade.
Homemade simple syrup gives this lemonade the right amount of sweetness, and it works well in other summery drinks, such as iced tea. Add sliced lemons and ice just before serving; if combined and left to sit, the batch will become too tart and watery.
Add zip to traditional lemonade by pairing it with fresh mint and lots of ice, all whirled together in the blender. It’s a quick and refreshing way to cool down.
Place the lemonade, mint and 2 cups of ice in a blender. Blend until the ice is crushed and the mixture is combined.
Dress up lemonade for your next summertime brunch with this festive and fizzy version featuring fresh lemon juice, puréed strawberries and club soda.
1. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer (do not stir) until the sugar dissolves, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
2. Meanwhile, in a blender, purée the strawberries with 1/4 cup of the lemon juice. Strain into a pitcher. Add the sugar syrup and remaining lemon juice and stir to combine. Refrigerate until chilled.
3. Just before serving, stir in the club soda. Serve over ice and garnish with fresh strawberries, if desired.
Tip: For an adults-only cocktail, add 2 tablespoon light rum or vodka to each glass before adding the lemonade.
Skip the soda and try this breezy lemonade instead! Because the ginger is infused into the simple syrup, it’s light and delicate—not overpowering—and a cool counterpart to the sliced cucumber.
1. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, ginger and 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer (do not stir) until the sugar dissolves, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely. Discard the ginger.
2. In a pitcher, combine the ginger-sugar syrup, lemon juice and 4 cups of water. Taste the lemonade: If it’s too tart, add 1 to 2 cups more cold water (keep in mind that you’ll want to add ice, which will dilute the lemonade). Refrigerate until chilled.
3. Just before serving, thinly slice the cucumber, stir into the pitcher and add ice.
Tip: For an adults-only cocktail, add 2 tablespoon gin to each glass before adding the lemonade.
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