Lemon Honey Granita

With the summer heat increasing and no chance of a cool change coming anytime soon (hurry up Fall), my lemon love is coming on strong. For those of you that didn't notice, this is my second lemon recipe this week! Funny thing is, I made this before my Skinny Lemonade. It just took me until now to post it.

This Lemon Honey Granita speaks for itself and you're either going to love it or not. Which means if you don't like lemons, then you can just stop right here. And I don't think we can be friends either.

Because as all of you know, that little tart yellow fruit is one of my favorite foods to use, whether in cooking or baking. Lemons are one of my all-star foods!

Now there's not much I can really say about this Lemon Honey Granita.

• it's cold (always a good thing in the summertime)
• it's lemony (always a plus in my book!)
• and it has a sweet honey flavoring that blends well with the tartness of the lemons.

Plus it's made with vodka. You can never go wrong when you add a little booze to your Granita!

Blend that all together and you have a refreshingly light treat for a hot summer day. Perfetto!

Just a little note, you ain't seen the last of my lemon love!

Lemon Honey Granita

Recipe by Julie Murphy

A refreshingly sweet lemon Granita infused with vodka to help you keep your cool during the summer months.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Total time: 10 minutes (not including freeze time)
Ingredients

• 1 cup Lemon water*
• 1 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup honey
• 1/2 cup vodka

Directions

1. Add 1 cup of plain water and honey to a non-reactive small saucepan. Heat over low to medium heat until honey is dissolved into water. Remove from heat.
2. In a large bowl, combine lemon water, lemon juice, vodka, and heated honey water. Stir together.
3. Pour into a freezer proof container, a bread loaf pan works great for this.
4. Place into the freezer, being careful not to spill contents.
5. After 1 hour, remove from freezer and check to see if ice crystals have started to form around the edges. If so, take a fork, stir the mixture, scraping the ice crystals to the center of the pan.
6. Replace back into the freezer, checking about every 30 to 45 minutes, stirring to help break up large ice crystals. Placing back into the freezer.
7. Repeat above steps until you have fine crystals of Granita. This usually takes about 6 to 7 more times of breaking up mixture with fork, depending on your freezer settings.
8. Let freeze overnight. You can even repeat above steps after mixture sets overnight.
9. Serve immediately when ready, as mixture may melt quickly. To help prevent rapid melting, you can always dish out ahead of time into serving cups and place into freezer until ready to serve.
10. Garnish with lemon zest or fresh sprigs of peppermint leaves.

*Helpful Hints*

 

- Lemon water is made by placing freshly washed lemons into a jar of water and letting it sit in the refrigerator up to 2 to 3 weeks, and then using the water for this Granita. You know the Lemon water is ready to use when it has a yellowish tint to it.

 

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Shared with: Savoring Saturdays

Coquito ~ Puerto Rican Eggnog

‘Tis the season for eggnog and I’m not talking about just any eggnog, No M’aam! I’m talking about eggnog with a tropical twist, Coquito, or also known as, Puerto Rican Eggnog.

I was reminded of this recipe after passing all the eggnog in the milk section at my local store today. I can’t believe I haven’t remembered this version of eggnog, especially after going through my coconut phase.

Ok, some might want to call it more of an obsession, but what can I say? I absolutely L-O-V-E the tropical, nutty flavor of this island nut. And obsession is such a strong word {chuckle}.

Back to this Puerto Rican eggnog, which is still a thick and creamy drink like the traditional eggnog, yet it has no eggs. That’s right, this is an eggless eggnog. Quite an oxymoron there, wouldn’t ya say? Egg-less Eggnog {smile}.

I might have had a sip or two of this drink before sitting down to write this post or it might just be sitting in a glass beside me, on the table, half full. Hey, somebody has to try these recipes before they get to you and if that is the selfless sacrifice I have to make, then count me in {wink}.

Like your traditional eggnog, you don’t have to serve this drink with alcohol (but what fun is that). Seriously now, you can leave out the alcohol for those that don’t drink and it’s just as yummy.

So if you love coconut like I do or maybe you just want to try an eggless eggnog, try my version of Coquito for a tropical twist on your Holiday season.

Coquito – Puerto Rican Eggnog

Ingredients

Makes 48 ounces

4 cups coconut canned milk, unsweetened

2 cup heavy cream

½ cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Honey for glass preparation – at least 4 ounces

½ cup sweetened, flaked coconut

4-6 coconut strips

Dash of nutmeg for topping

Cinnamon sticks, 1 per glass

For alcoholic version ~ Rum to your own tasting

Directions

Place coconut milk, heavy cream, powdered sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg into a blender. Blend until all ingredients are thoroughly mixed.

Pour into a small pitcher, cover, and refrigerate until chilled. Overnight is best so the flavors can mingle.

Prepare the glasses when ready to serve.

Pour about 3 Tablespoons of honey onto a flat plate for every 2 glasses to prepare. Place flaked coconut on same plate as honey, keeping them separate.

Roll the rim of the glass around in the honey so it covers the entire rim. Gently repeat same process in flaked coconut so rim of glass is covered with honey and coconut.

Place glass on counter and drizzle honey into the inside of the glass. You can use as much as you like here, keeping in mind it will sweeten your drinks. A little bit of honey for a mild sweet flavor. More honey for sweeter drinks.

For alcoholic versions, pour in desired amount of rum.

Pour in chilled coconut milk mix.

Sprinkle with a dash of ground nutmeg over the top, place either 1 to 2 coconut strips or a pinch of sweetened, flaked coconut on top.

Garnish with a cinnamon stick. Serve and enjoy!

Watch me make this here on Simmer.

Remember to drink responsibly this Holiday season.

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Honey Coconut Ice Cream

I hope y’all had a fabulous and safe 4th of July weekend! Now that 4th of July is behind us, its full steam ahead into summer. And ya know what that means….yep, Christmas is just around the corner. That’s right, I said it, Christmas. It will be here before ya know it.

Seeing its summertime and the best thing about summer is cold, frozen sweets, I have a yummy ice cream recipe to share with you today, Honey Coconut ice cream. I made this for 4th of July and added some blue and red sprinkles to make it festive and it was a hit!

I was planning on making my coconut ice cream when all of a sudden it hit me, why don’t we try honey instead of powdered sugar for a more healthy ice cream. Yea, I just said healthy ice cream….kind of an oxymoron, isn’t it? Healthy and ice cream in the same sentence.

Anywho, I used honey to sweeten this ice cream and it turned out so delicious that I just had to share it with y’all so you can see for yourself. It really has a different taste than the coconut ice cream  I made a few weeks ago. This ice cream has a sweet honey taste that reminds you of everything summer!

And the sprinkles add some fun, making it a win-win for everybody! Moms will love it for the natural ingredients and kids will love it for the sprinkles and the sweet honey coconut flavor, not to mention because its ice cream! And who doesn’t love ice cream?

Honey Coconut Ice Cream

Ingredients

1 cup Coconut milk

1 cup Cream of coconut

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon coconut extract

2 Tablespoons Honey

¼ cup coconut flakes* (optional)

1-2 Tablespoons sprinkles (you can use more, less, or just leave them out)

Directions

Pour all ingredients into a blender and puree for a few minutes or until all ingredients are blended thoroughly.

Pour into a freezer safe bowl and freeze overnight.

*Helpful Hints*

- Coconut flakes can be omitted if you don’t like the texture.

- You can use any color sprinkles you want or just leave the out.

- All measurements are US

All content and images are property of Sweet and Spicy Monkey. Please do not reprint this content without my permission. If you wish to include this recipe on your site, please re-write in your own words and use your own photographs and link back to this post for original recipe.

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