My family is made up of lemonade drinkers. When I go back to my parents house, my mom seems to stock Arnold Palmer by the case. Her after-hours drink of choice is always the Front Porch Lemonade down at the Cloisters in Sea Island. Now, I'm not a lemonade person, but this drink is actually the bomb. Just sweet enough, super fresh, and it gives you a nice buzz.
When I was down in Georgia for Thanksgiving, our neighbors lemon trees were basically bursting at the seems. We picked a bunch, and I saw it as the perfect opportunity to healthify the front porch lemonade recipe. Any classic lemonade recipe normally uses white sugar (not great for ya), fake sweeteners (really not great for ya), or high fructose corn syrup (straight up baaaaad for you). I used coconut sugar, which has minerals and phytonutrients (unlike it's counterparts), is comparatively low in fructose, and has half the glycemic load of white sugar. Sweet!
This recipe is:
- Refined-sugar free
- Vegan
- Less than 5 ingredients
- A crowd pleaser
Healthier Front Porch Lemonade
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a new take on a classic | serves eight
Ingredients:
3/4 cup Coconut Sugar [I use this one- link]
1 and 1/2 cups Water
1 and 1/2 cups lemon juice (from about 8-10 lemons)
6 cups Ice water
3 Handfuls Mint Leaves
Vodka
Directions:
1. Juice the lemons and add to your pitcher with the 6 cups of ice water.
2. Bring the coconut sugar and 1.5 cups water to a low boil on the stove in small/medium sauce pan. This makes a simple syrup!
3. Stir the water and sugar until they are completely combined, making sure the syrup doesn't burn or get too hot and solidify [Note: I've found this happens when there are bubbles over the entire syrup surface area-- so watch for it].
4. Add the syrup to the pitcher with the other ingredients. Set in the fridge to chill for at least an hour.
5. Take your mix out. Add vodka to taste-- anywhere between 1-2 shots per serving is the sweet spot (literally), but keep tasting as you mix!
6. Throw in the mint leaves and some extra ice, and serve.
What's your go-to cocktail at a bar?
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