Lemonade Cupcakes

I don’t know if lemonade is the official July 4th beverage, but it should be. Here’s my recipe for a homemade version that starts with syrup - you can store it and use it for drinks and also these wonderful cupcakes and frosting!

LEMONADE SYRUP
1-1/2 cups water
1-1/2 cups sugar
1-1/2 cups lemon juice (6-7 lemons)
1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest

Place the water and sugar in a saucepan and boil for 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the lemon juice and zest. Refrigerate at least one hour. Strain. Makes about 3 cups (to make lemonade, mix some cold water or seltzer with some syrup, add ice cubes).

LEMONADE CUPCAKES
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1/3 cup lemonade syrup
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons lemonade syrup

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease 10 muffin cups. Beat the butter at medium speed until well blended. Add the eggs one at a time beating after each addition. Beat in the yogurt and 1/3 cup lemonade syrup. The mixture will look curdled. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt and mix together. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Beat to blend ingredients thoroughly to a smooth batter. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin. Bake 18-20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven. Brush the remaining 3 tablespoons lemonade syrup over the cupcakes. Let cool. Frost and serve. Makes 10

LEMONADE FROSTING

1/2 cup butter
3-4 tablespoons lemonade syrup
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
2 cups confectioners’ sugar

Beat the butter, 3 tablespoons lemonade syrup and the zest at medium speed until well mixed. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar and beat until smooth and well blended. Add more lemonade syrup if needed for spreading consistency.

Lemonade Cookies

I read that in some places the local  government has either banned or regulated lemonade stands.

They say it has to do with the stands (run by kids of course) being next to or too near commercial vendors who by law had to pay some sort of fee. In some cases they say it’s about health issues.

Because this is a food blog I’m not going to touch the political issues. But I have to say I love the idea of entrepreneurial kids — and lemonade stands are sort of tradition in this country, right?

On the other hand, lemonade at lemonade stands isn’t what it used to be back in the day. I’ve seen way too many where they sell what I think of as fake lemonade made by mixing water with some awful chemical tasting crystals from a cardboard container. Call me fussy, but it’s not a beverage I would drink, so for me, it’s not a government thing and although I love the kids’ grit and spirit, I ban fake lemonade as a matter of taste.

C’mon kiddos! Fresh lemonade from homemade lemon syrup is so easy to make. You can make pitchers-ful and stock it in the fridge for a week. All you have to do is add water or seltzer to some of the syrup and you’ve got some pretty tasty stuff to drink. Or sell.

And if you have any extra syrup leftover you can can use it for splendiferous things like these cookies. In fact, why not sell the cookies too?

Lemonade Cookies

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons lemon syrup

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel

1/4 cup lemon syrup

granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cream the butter and sugar at medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until thoroughly blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Mix the flour, baking soda and salt and add to the butter mixture, alternating with 10 tablespoons lemon syrup. Mix in the lemon peel. Drop the batter by the heaping tablespoonful onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for about 9-10 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. While the cookies are still warm, brush them with the remaining 1/4 cup lemon syrup. Sprinkle with sugar. Let the cookies cool.

 Makes about 60 cookies

To make Lemon Syrup: 

1-1/2 cups water

1-1/2 cups sugar

1-1/2 cups lemon juice (6-7 lemons)

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel

Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Boil the liquid for 5-8 minutes or until thicker and syrupy. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the lemon juice and peel. Refrigerate for at least one hour or until very cold. Strain the mixture into a storage container.

Makes just under 3 cups

Lemonade Cupcakes with Lemonade Frosting

My daughter Gillian and her husband Jesse and the kids are in Brazil for the World Cup.

Okay, they’re there to see family, so it’s a two-fer. 

But they are going to some of the games and Jesse is a huge futbol/soccer fan. Some of his enthusiasm has rubbed off on us over the years. So of course we’ll watch the United States play tonight.

Is the team an underdog? Yes, but who cares? They might just win. I picked the winning horse at the Belmont Stakes a few weeks ago and that animal was running with 11-1 odds (too bad I didn’t make an actual bet). So I am betting on the U.S.

While we watch we’ll have real American food.

Takeout.

Actually, I haven’t figured out dinner yet. But I know dessert will include some lemonade cup cakes because what could a more American drink than lemonade?

Okay, maybe coca cola, but that’s not homemade. I made homemade lemonade syrup for lemonade over the weekend and with the extra liquid, mixed it into cup cakes. Tangy, sweet but not too sweet. Nice for nibbling while watching the game.

                                                                                                                                                                 Lemonade Syrup

1-1/2 cups water

1-1/2 cups sugar

1-1/2 cups lemon juice (6-7 lemons)

1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon peel

Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Boil the liquid 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the lemon juice and peel. Refrigerate for at least one hour or until very cold. Strain the mixture into a storage container. Makes just under 3 cups (to make lemonade mix some cold water or seltzer with some syrup, add ice cubes).

Lemonade Cupcakes with Lemonade Frosting                                                                                                                                                               

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1/3 cup plain yogurt

1/3 cup lemonade syrup

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons lemonade syrup

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease 10 muffin cups. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the butter and sugar and beat at medium speed until fluffy and well combined. Add the eggs one at a time beating after each addition. Beat in the yogurt and 1/3 cup lemonade syrup. The mixture will look curdled. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt and mix together. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Beat to blend ingredients thoroughly to a smooth batter. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin. Bake for about 18-20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and brush the remaining 3 tablespoons lemonade syrup over the tops of the cupcakes. Let cool. Frost and serve. Makes 10

Lemonade Frosting

1/2 cup butter

3-4 tablespoons lemonade syrup

1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel

2 cups confectioner’s sugar

Cream the butter in an electric mixer at medium speed. Add 3 tablespoons lemonade syrup and the lemon peel and beat them in. Gradually add the confectioner’s sugar and beat until the frosting is smooth and well blended. Add more lemonade syrup if needed for spreading consistency. Enough for 10 cupcakes

Lemonade, all sorts

You know American capitalism is alive and well when July 4th comes around and you see kids selling lemonade on the street. My daughter Gillian did it, with her friend Dana to help her (and potentially earn half the profits). They used an upside down crate and made two simple signs. One said “Homemade Lemonade 15 cents.” The other said “Best Lemonade.” (It was.)

Unfortunately we lived down a glen where there was literally no traffic on our road. The only cars that came and went were our neighbors (3 of them) and only one neighbor could actually see into our driveway.

There were no profits. But there was a lot of fun and the enthusiasm factor was high.

They also had a good recipe. They didn’t open a can of frozen concentrate or mix some crystals and water. They made lemonade from —- lemons! And sugar. It was delish. Tangy but sweet.

What better drink to drink on July 4th weekend than some good old-fashioned American lemonade. The real thing, from scratch. Frozen and packaged lemonade can’t compare.

You can make lemonade concentrate and keep it for days and days in the fridge. And if you have the basic concentrate you can also make variations easily — like Spice Lemonade or even “adult” versions like Yellow Jacket Lemonade (with tequila or vodka).

Try some. Here are a couple of recipes.

Old Fashioned Lemonade

1-1/2 cups water

1-1/2 cups sugar

grated rind of one large lemon

1-1/2 cups fresh lemon juice

ice cubes

cold water or seltzer

Place the 1-1/2 cups water and the sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil for 3 minutes. Add the lemon rind and lemon juice and stir. Let cool, then place in the refrigerator and let cool completely. Strain the mixture. Keep refrigerated until ready to make individual glasses of lemonade. To make the lemonade, place some ice cubes in a glass, fill 1/3 of the way up with some of the cold lemon syrup. Add cold water or seltzer, stir and drink. Makes about 8 servings

(Alternatively, pour the cold syrup into a pitcher and fill with water or seltzer and some ice cubes.)

Spice Lemonade

4 cups water

3-inch piece cinnamon stick

6 whole cloves

6 allspice berries

1-1/2 cups lemonade syrup

Place the water, cinnamon stick, cloves and allspice berries in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Strain the liquid into a pitcher. Add the lemonade syrup. Stir to mix thoroughly. Chill in the refrigerator until cold. Pour into glasses half filled with ice. Makes about 8 servings

Yellow Jacket Lemonade

3 cups homemade lemonade

1 cup tequila or vodka

2 cups ice water, approximately

1 sliced lemon

Mix the lemonade and vodka or tequila and pour into a pitcher half filled with ice cubes. Mix in 2 cups water (taste and add more water as preferred). Add lemon slices. Makes about 8 servings

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