Inpsiration: I was so excited when I walked into the grocery store last week and saw the first batch of fresh cherries in the produce section. To me, cherries just scream summer time, and there’s nothing like a bag of fresh cherries in my lunch on a sunny day. They’re one of those foods that just improve my mood by being so tasty and so summer. I always just eat them by the handful, but this year, I’ve been thinking of trying some recipes using fresh cherries. A nice cherry lemonade sounded like a perfect treat for a long holiday weekend.

What we Loved: B and I both agreed that this was the best lemonade we’ve ever had. It was tart and sour like you’d expect a lemonade to be, but also so sweet and cherry flavored. It was just delicious. And isn’t the color beautiful? We enjoyed this as an afternoon snack on Memorial Day after a nice bike ride. Perfect.

Helpful Hints: My only advice here is to make a lot! The below recipe just barely makes enough for two 8 oz glasses of lemonade (with ice), but B and I both really wished that we had more. I would double the recipe, or even make enough for a pitcher. This lemonade would be great for a summer party or BBQ.

Cherry Lemonade
Source: New York Times

1/2 cup cherries, pitted
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup cold water
4 tablespoons sugar

1. Blend all of the ingredients together in a blender.

2. Pour the lemonade through a sieve in order to collect the bits of cherry peels that remain unblended.

3. Serve over ice, garnished with fresh cherries.