Invigorating Jalapeno Lemonade with Fresh Lemons

Nothing beats an ice-cold glass of Southern lemonade, unless you give it a bold and sassy kick! Invigorating Jalapeño Lemonade is the perfect mix of sweet, tangy, and just the right amount of heat, made with fresh-squeezed lemons, a homemade lemon simple syrup, and spicy jalapeño slices. It's bright, refreshing, and guaranteed to wake up your taste buds this summer in the best way! Pitcher serves 6-8.

Honestly, is there anything better than a refreshingly cold drink on these hot and humid summer days? Southern sweet tea or an Oaks Lily cocktail - give me all of the ice cold drinks during the hot summer days.

Today we are taking a summer drink classic and giving it a kick with some fresh jalapenos. It is sweet and tart with this little bit of heat that I am obsessed with! And after making this many times, I believe it has the perfect flavor balance!

Let me show you how I like to make it in my own home!

First thing we need to do

We need to make the homemade lemon simple syrup - this is the key ingredient for that extra bit of well-rounded lemon flavor!

Since this is a cold drink that doesn't need to be hot and brewed like tea, using a liquid sweetener is best. Have you ever tried to dissolve sugar in ice water? It doesn't work.

By boiling together equal parts of water and sugar (ie: 1 cup of water to 1 cup of sugar), this will give you a sticky sweet liquid sweetener that mixes and blends perfectly into lemonade. Leaving 0 sugar granules at the bottom of your pitcher.

1. With a vegetable peeler, peel the yellow rind off 1 lemon. Be careful not to get the white rind, just the yellow.
2. To a large saucepan add in the sugar, water, and juice of 1 lemon and lemon peel. Turn to medium-high heat and bring to a low boil.
3. Once at a low boil, turn to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes until the syrup has reduced and the sugar is dissolved.
4. Pour into a mason jar and let come to room temp before using it in this recipe.

⭐️ To store simple syrup, keep it in a sealed mason jar in the fridge for a couple of weeks. This lemon simple syrup would be delicious in other summer cocktails like a vodka soda with a splash of this and a lemon wedge or in 3 ingredient peach frozen rose!

Let's make lemonade

1. Freshly squeeze the juice of 8 lemons (about 2 cups) into a pitcher.
2. Thinly slice a jalapeno and add to the pitcher.
3. Add 1 cup of the freshly made lemon simple syrup (that is at room temp or cold) to a large pitcher. Stir very well.
4. Add in a couple of handfuls of ice. Stir very well.
5. Add in cold water to fill up the rest of the pitcher and stir with a wooden spoon very well.
6. Garnish with lemon wedges and sliced jalapeno for an extra kick!

Just for fun - Make it A Cocktail! 😉

1. Add ice to a large tall glass. 
2. Add in 1 shot of Vodka (we are Tito's fans).
3. Fill the glass ¾ full with Jalapeno Lemonade and top the rest off with sparkling water for some bubbly!
4. Garnish with lemon wedges and extra jalapeno slices for an extra kick. Enjoy!

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