This cherry lemonade instantly takes me right back to my childhood. Saturdays at the mall with my mom, we head to the food court and I am getting Hot Dog on a Stick’s cheese on a stick and cherry lemonade. Good lord! It was so good. Since moving to the East Coast, I have learned that Hot Dog on a Stick is a West Coast franchise, Boo! Since I won’t be getting their lemonade anytime soon, I made my own and let me tell you, one sip and I am right back in California on the beach soaking up the sun. And maybe one day I will learn how to make the cheese on a stick too.
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Cherry Lemonade
I love a good shortcut, and this cherry lemonade is the perfect mix of easy and homemade. I start with store-bought lemonade and mix it with a simple cherry syrup made from simmering cherries and sugar. The result? A perfectly sweet, slightly tart, and super refreshing drink that tastes like summer in a glass. Pour it over ice, garnish with lemon sugar and a candied lemon, and enjoy!
Ingredients
- Lemonade I like Simply
- 1/2 cup cherries You can buy frozen pitted or fresh that you will have to pit yourself
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water
Lemon Sugar
- 1 Lemon Zest
- 1/4 cup sugar
Candied Lemon
- 1 Lemon
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup water
Instructions
Cherry Syrup
- To make the cherry syrup place the cherries, sugar, and water in a sauce pan
- Smash the cherries with a spatula and bring the mixture to a boil
- Once the mixture is boiling, turn the heat to low and allow it to simmer for 5 minutes
- Once cool store the syrup in a glass container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks
Cherry Lemonade
- Fill a glass with ice
- Pour in 3 tbsp of cherry syrup
- Top off the glass with lemonade
- Garnish with a candied lemon and lemon sugar
Lemon Sugar
- In a small bowl pour 1/3 cup sugar
- Zest a lemon over the sugar, it is okay if a little lemon juice sneaks in as it allows the zest to cling to the sugar better
- Mix together and sprinkle on your lemonade
Candied Lemons
- Slice your lemons really thin
- In a pan combine sugar and water
- Once the sugar dissolves add the lemon slices
- Allow the lemon slices to sit in the sugar mixture on low heat until the lemon looks transparent and most of the sugar water has disappeared
- Remove the lemons from the pan and allow them to dry overnight
- Use as a garnish for your lemonade
Notes
Don’t let the garnishes keep you from making this drink. They were a fun way for me to be creative but they don’t make or break this drink. But this cherry lemonade will make your summer! PROMISE
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