
The bubbles are perfect for these cocktails of pear simple syrup, vodka & a cucumber kiss. Continue reading
The bubbles are perfect for these cocktails of pear simple syrup, vodka & a cucumber kiss. Continue reading
Fall in a cup! This hot cocktail came out of my love for fall hot drinks so I mixed vanilla tea and apple cider and spiked it. It was delightful!
Apple Cider & Vanilla Tea Hot Cocktail
Ingredients: (for 2)
1 cup cider
1 cup vanilla tea (or a tiny bit of vanilla extract into black tea)
1-2 shots vanilla vodka
~4 tablespoons whipped cream
sprinkle of cinnamon sugar
Directions:
Brew the tea and warm the cider.
Mix one part tea (1/2 cup) with one part cider (1/2 cup) and half the vodka and stir. Sweeten to taste – I left my tea unsweetened but normally sweeten when drinking it by itself!
Top with whipped cream and a cinnamon sugar sprinkle.
Enjoy!
I loved this! It wasn’t so so sweet since I hadn’t sweetened the tea but could see it being good either way. Rim the glasses with cinnamon sugar and skip the whipped cream if you wish!
This one seems great with brunch since it is light, and would be great at Thanksgiving! These would work well as a big batch, like in a pitcher and guests could spike it (or not). Serve them for day-drinks or tailgating!
Get ready for some herby cocktails! Thanks to the family in Florida, we got a great spread of different herbs which are flourishing in our garden! I’ve been using them to cook with but there’s plenty so now I’m introducing a few cocktails! This is perfect for your labor day menu! Make a pitcher!
I started with lemonade and citrus vodka, and then added a sprig of rosemary and dropped a few frozen blueberries on top. So good!
1 shot citrus vodka
4 shots lemonade
ice
1/2 shot lemon juice
1 sprig fresh rosemary
frozen blueberries
Add some ice to a glass with a sprig of rosemary.
In a cocktail shaker, add 2 ice cubes, lemonade, vodka, and lemon juice.
Shake shake shake.
Serve over the ice and rosemary. Top with a few blueberries.
Enjoy!
I loved this. The lemon juice really balanced the flavor from being too sweet since my lemonade was Crystal Light, not a tart lemonade. The rosemary was perfect. It wasn’t too much…I didn’t want it to become woodsy. I might not buy rosemary just to make this, but it is a perfect use for rosemary if you have it from something else.
Get your hands on some rosemary to make these…just not all at the same meal with the cocktail:
Rosemary in white beans, then top with something deliciously grilled
Rosemary in the Parisian Burger, seriously favorite burger of all time
Rosemary & Truffle oil on some baked french fries or homefries
‘What I Ate’ is a series of posts for so-easy-this-doesn’t-need-a-recipe but I’m sharing with you for the idea or inspiration.
Apple cider is one of my favorite flavors of fall. This fall, as I’m 7 months pregnant, I’ve been heating it and drinking it on the way to work. It helps me pretend I have all the coffee I can drink. Helps.
I was digging around to figure out why hot cider at fancy places tastes so different. Then I discovered Betty Crocker had the secret! It is heavy cream! Don’t bail on me, hear me out. This is amazingly apple and caramel flavored with just a touch of creaminess.
(for 2 mugs or 1 travel mug)
3 tbs brown sugar
3 tbs heavy cream
3 cups apple cider
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
whipped cream for garnish (optional)
Heat brown sugar and cream until bubbly and dissolved.
Add cider, vanilla extract, and cinnamon, cooking until heated through.
Divide into 2 mugs.
Optional: top with whipped cream, cinnamon, and caramel ice cream topping while playing some coffee house jams.
This is so decadent. I have it for dessert…warmed cider is the morning version. It is super sweet but you definitely taste the caramel and apple. You could always add in a splash of rum, vanilla vodka, whipped cream vodka, or the spiking of your choice.
I love the fall-finds at Trader Joe’s I grabbed this cranberry soda without a plan for it but it sounded good and had serious potential. Sometimes special cocktails don’t need a reason. They make a random night’s dinner prep that much more exciting!
1 1/2 cups cranberry soda (or cranberry juice + club soda)
1/2 shot cranberry vodka
1/2 shot whipped vodka
splash lime juice
Mix vodkas and soda over ice.
Add a splash of lime juice.
It was so good. I think the whipped vodka was key to this. It kept it from being overly bitter with a hint of a creamy flavor. It is so pretty too. #winning
Ginger ale with a splash of cranberry juice would be good flavors in this. Orange zest and cointreau would be good flavors. How great would the orange flavors be for brunch?!
‘What I Ate’ is a series of posts for so-easy-this-doesn’t-need-a-recipe but I’m sharing with ya for the idea or inspiration.
This cocktail is too easy for a recipe (and I didn’t measure), but it was delicious and unplanned and did I say delicious? I just had to share. I was whipping up something for dinner and my eyes fell on the orange soda in the fridge. I don’t buy many every-day drink options so we normally only have water & milk to offer. I rarely make cocktails but maybe I need to do that more often! An after work cocktail definitely makes any random weeknight feel special. I also thought this was perfectly summery.
‘Fancy’ orange soda + orange zest + whipped cream flavored vodka = creamsicle!
This tastes even better than it looks. This cocktail took instagram by storm, well, not really but I was cocktail-happy so any likes made me smile.
A non-alcoholic creamsicle found here as a smoothie (one of my favorite smoothies ever).
This whipped cream vodka goes with anything for an instant cocktail. I love it in hot chocolate once winter hits but now I want to attempt some sort of frozen-blended fudgsicle cocktail with this too! Any ideas/suggestions for that one?
Life’s too short not to have sangria on hand in the summer, right? I only ever make it when I get to feed it to a million people. I just love it and figured why not make a slightly smaller amount to drink ourselves? Let’s be real. Mr. J had a glass and I had the rest…not all in one sitting.
Welcome to #sangriasunday! It made me so happy and I need to make sangria more often.
1 pint of strawberries, tops cut off
½ cup sugar
¼ cup water
3 – 5 basil leaves
1 bottle of white wine
½ cup triple sec
½ cup orange juice
(to be made at least 8 hours before serving, trust me)
In a small saucepan, over medium-low heat, add the strawberries, sugar, and water.
Cook for 10-15 minutes, until the strawberries break down.
Reduce heat to low and add in the basil.
Cook for 10 minutes.
Strain the berries & basil leaves out.
Mix the strawberry syrup in a pitcher with the wine, triple sec, and orange juice.
Refrigerate for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight.
Serve with some berries or orange slices or basil. Enjoy!
This was so good. That’s it. It was just really good. The flavors are great and not over the top. I secretly love adding the orange juice which when makes it murky and citrus-y. I like the subtle basil flavor. It keeps it from being too sweet.
Sangria is perfect with cheap fruity wine. Or adding some fun to a wine that doesn’t end up being your favorite. It makes me happy when paired with BBQ or I love it as dessert.
‘What I Ate’ is a series of posts for so-easy-this-doesn’t-need-a-recipe but I’m sharing with ya for the idea or inspiration.
Who doesn’t love a good ole Arnold Palmer? I saw this deviation of tea/lemonade on Pinterest. It seems to have arose to copy a Starbucks treat.
Brew 3 cups of strong passion fruit tea
Mix up some lemonade. Crystal Light is my fav and makes this beverage have far fewer calories than Starbuck’s version. I like that this lemonade isn’t as mouth-puckeringly tart as some others. I didn’t add any sweetener. Crystal Light is sweet enough.
Mix them together. Mine was about 1/3 tea to 2/3 lemonade, saving some lemonade asside. The mixture quantity came about according to what fit in my pitcher. #exactscience
It is such a delightful pink in a happy-fushia kind of way. Let chill and serve on ice. Some ruby red vodka or grand marnier would be just lovely for an evening/poolside variation as well!
Check out other What I Ate posts for easy ideas!
I hadn’t ever made homemade hot chocolate before and I can’t believe how easy it is! Four simple ingredients and I was on my way. Then I wondered what would happen if I replaced the milk with eggnog? Ohh wow. It was amazing. What a simple way to add some serious flavor to your drink!
1/4 cup Sweet’N Low
1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup baking cocoa
2 cups eggnog
Heat Sweet’N Low, water, and salt in a saucepan over medium low heat.
Add cocoa and cook until all the lumps are smoothed out.
Add eggnog and stir.
Cook until heated through.
It was so decadent and rich. I loved the chocolate flavor with the eggnog.
This was probably about 435,687,289 calories, but the Sweet’N Low helps to shed a few. I love cutting a few calories when it doesn’t affect the flavor.
Full 3 Bite Rule Disclosure: I was selected to receive samples of Sweet ‘N Low as part of the DailyBuzz Food Tastemaker program. The product samples were completely complimentary but my experience, thoughts, opinions, and words are entirely my own.
I made some hot caramel apple cider recently and expected to be floored. It was good, but not ground breaking (apple cider, caramel sauce, & cinnamon). Then, I turned the leftovers into sangria and it was the best sangria I’ve ever made. Ever. Seriously. Write this down.
I saw the idea for apple cider sangria and adapted it to what I like/had around.
½ gallon apple cider
2 tbs caramel sauce (optional)
1 tsp cinnamon
½ cup simple syrup (1/2 cup water + ½ cup sugar dissolved)
1 cup cranberry vodka
1 -2 cups red wine
craisins and chopped apple
Mix cider, caramel & cinnamon (optional), simple syrup, and vodka together.
Add craisins and apple and keep refrigerated for 24 hours before serving. Drink this as a cocktail or continue on for sangria.
Add wine and serve.
Can I gush about how great this was? Ok, great! 😉
It was fall, and crisp, and sweet, and had a serious boozy kick to it. I loved it. The apple cider and cranberry flavors were great together. I liked how sweet and cool it was. Craisins absorb the liquid and plump up.
Mr. J was introduced to sangria in Barcelona and and he actually loved it! He liked this one too. It was kind of a hybrid between a cocktail and sangria anyway. It packed a serious punch. I finished my glass and was bopping around totally feeling the wine and alcohol in there!
I want to make more. Already. It was fun to just have sangria around. I’m afraid I “save” thoughts and recipe ideas for special occasions. I think this was a good reminder that anything can become a special occasion.