Raspberry Lemonade

Everything about this recipe makes me happy. From pureeing the raspberries, to squeezing the lemons, to the delicious results. It is insanely simply, make a simple syrup, squeeze a pile of lemons, puree some raspberries, and viola - summer's favorite beverage elevated to a new level. Delish!

Raspberry Lemonade

adapted from Simply Recipes via Joy the Baker

1 cup sugar, for a less sweet lemonade, take the sugar down to 3/4 cup
1 cup water to make the simple syrup
1 cup fresh lemon juice
4 cups cold water
2 Tablespoons to 1/4 cup raspberry sauce (recipe follows), depending on how much raspberry you like

Make simple syrup by heating the sugar and water in a small saucepan until the sugar is dissolved completely.

While the sugar is dissolving, use a juicer to extract the juice from 4 to 6 lemons, enough for one cup of juice.

Add the juice and the sugar water to a pitcher. Add 4 cups of cold water, more or less to the desired strength. Add the prepared raspberry sauce and stir to combine. Refrigerate 30 to 40 minutes. If the lemonade is a little sweet for your taste, add a little more straight lemon juice to it.

Serve over ice.

Serves 6.
Raspberry Sauce
1/2 of a 12-ounce bag of frozen raspberries, thawed
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon water

Place raspberries, sugar and water in a food processor or blender. Process until smooth. Pour sauce through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl.

Notes: I use the full cup of sugar and squeeze the lemons by hand (don't have a juicer and I like squeezing lemons). I save the leftover raspberry puree in the freezer and pull it out when I'm ready to make another pitcher.