And nothings better than a frosty beverage during the summer months. The bad part is the store bought kind are usually made with loads of sugar and artificial coloring, so it’s not something I want my three year old consuming. But just because the commercially prepared ones are junk doesn’t mean we can’t make our own at home right? After all, we’re talking ice and syrup so what can be easier than that?
I figured it would be fun to create my own slushy using some homemade syrup made with sweet in-season cherries. He’s a cherry fanatic and now they are popping up everywhere so it only seemed natural to use these crimson beauties as the stars of my slushy making experiment. In fact once you make the basic cherry syrup, you not only have a great base for a delicious slushy, you also have a great pancake or waffle syrup, ice cream topping, mix-in for homemade sodas (think: Cherry Lime Rickey) or plain greek yogurt.
Basic Cherry Syrup
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups pitted red cherries
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups water
Instructions:
1. Combine all of the ingredients in a medium saucepan over high heat until it comes to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and allow mixture to cook down, stirring occasionally until your mixture reduces down to half and thickens into a syrup, about 10 minutes.
2. Pour syrup into a bowl through a fine mesh strainer, pressing down on cherries with a wooden spoon to extract all of the liquid. Eat the boiled cherries as a snack (I did). Cool syrup, then pour into an airtight container (I like to use a Mason jar) and refrigerate.
Cherry Lime Slushies
- Makes 2 slushies
Ingredients:
- 2 cups ice
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1/2 cup homemade cherry syrup (see recipe above), you may add extra syrup if you want it sweeter
- 1/4 cup water (or more if your blender is giving you trouble grinding the ice).
Instructions:
1. Pour all of the ingredients into a blender and pulse until ice begins to break down. Once ice is crushed up a bit, allow the blender to run for about 30 seconds or until ice becomes slushie consistency. If your blender is not super powerful you made need to add in some extra water to get things moving. Pour into tall glasses and serve with a thick straw.
