Vanilla Lemonade

Welcome to Foxes Love Lemonade! I’m (obviously) obsessed with the bright, tart taste of lemons, and I love freshly squeezed lemonade as well! Classic lemonade is just dandy, but in this summertime series, I’ll be coming up with new spins on my favorite cool-down drink.

I was having a bit of a creativity lull when trying to think up my next new lemonade recipe, so I started poking around my kitchen cabinets. I didn’t have to look very long before my eyes settled on a bottle of Nielsen-Massey vanilla extract. I’ve long loved Nielsen-Massey products because I know they are the highest quality extracts available. I even give them as holiday and birthday gifts to the bakers in my life. While we all reach for vanilla extract when baking, I wanted to give this little bottle of extract some love in a beverage recipe, so I thought “why not vanilla lemonade?”

I’m so glad I decided to go this direction, as this might be my favorite lemonade yet (I know, I say that every time. But for real). For this recipe, I started with a classic homemade lemonade using simple syrup (just a boiled mixture of sugar and water) and freshly squeezed lemon juice (it takes awhile to squeeze all those lemons, but it is SO worth it).

I “spiked” my lemonade with a teaspoon of Nielsen-Massey Organic Fairtrade Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract. This extract offers the same amazing flavor as Nielsen-Massey’s traditional vanilla extract, but is made with only certified organic and Fairtrade ingredients. The sweet, mellow flavor makes it ideal for cooking and baking.

For more information about Nielsen-Massey, please connect with them on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube.

Yield: 4 servings

Vanilla Lemonade

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Prep Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 cups water, divided
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Nielsen-Massey Organic Fairtrade Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract

Instructions

1. In small saucepot, stir together 1 cup water and sugar. Cook over medium heat 4 to 6 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat; let stand 10 minutes. Transfer to jar or container and refrigerate until completely cool, or up to 5 days.
2. In pitcher, stir together lemon juice, vanilla extract, cooled sugar syrup and remaining 3 cups water.  Serve over ice.

Disclosure: This was a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the Nielsen-Massey. Sponsored posts help me pay for the costs associated with this blog (groceries…lots of groceries), and help support me as I pursue a career in recipe development and food photography. All opinions are 100% my own.