Name: Frozen Strawberry Daiquiris
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: Cuban
Ingredients: 4 oz light rum; 1 oz freshly-squeezed lime juice; 2 cups ice; 8 strawberries, hulled and sliced; 1/4 cup sugar; 1/4 cup water; 2 large strawberries, hulled and sliced

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Take advantage of fresh summer produce to make these frozen strawberry daiquiris! Fresh strawberries plus strawberry syrup give this cocktail an intense flavor.

From a flavor perspective, this is my second-favorite time of the year. First favorite being pumpkin. Sorry, not sorry. I love fresh berries. And this week is dedicated to recipes using berries.

I have another confession: I'm not really a big fan of tequila. Give me a choice between a margarita and a daquiri at a restaurant, and I'll probably choose the daiquiri. I'll make margaritas at home, because I can control the level of tequila and make the flavor not as prominent.

History of the Daiquiri

Daiquiris are believed to have originated in Cuba in the early 1900s. Similar to mojitos, they are traditionally a combination of ice, sugar, lime juice and rum. The drink became very popular in the 1940s, when whiskey and vodka were hard to come by, due to World War II rationing, but rum was plentiful.

The frozen daiquiri has a texture similar to a Slushee or Icee. I find that simply adding fruit to the blender doesn't produce a strong enough fruit flavor. That's why I also influse the simple syrup with the fruit as well.

Before you start throwing ingredients into the blender, be sure to check your owner's manual. Not all blenders are built to crush ice. Smaller cubes are easier to crush than larger cubes from standard sized ice cube trays. Need smaller cubes? Place the required amount of ice in a zip-top plastic bag and give them a few good whacks with a rolling pin.

Food processors and immersion blenders were NOT made to crush ice and shouldn't be used for this recipe. Even specialty margarita makers were only meant to shave ice, not crush it.

Craving frozen strawberry daiquiris, but strawberries are out of season? This recipe will work just as well with frozen fruit (as long as it's NOT frozen in syrup). You don't even need to thaw the berries! Just toss them frozen into the blender.

You can also substitute other berries, or even a mix of berries. You'd need about 1 ½ ounces of fruit for the syrup, and 4 ounces of fruit to add to the blender. Again, fresh or frozen fruit may be used.

Frozen Strawberry Daiquiris

Yield: 2 drinks

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Chilling Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Take advantage of fresh summer produce to make these frozen strawberry daiquiris! Fresh strawberries plus strawberry syrup give this cocktail an intense flavor.

Ingredients

For the strawberry syrup

¼ cup sugar
¼ cup water
2 large strawberries, hulled and sliced

For the drinks

4 oz light rum
1 oz freshly-squeezed lime juice
2 cups ice
8 strawberries, hulled and sliced

Instructions

Make the syrup

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, water and sliced strawberries. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Once the mixture boils, lower the heat to keep the mixture at a simmer, and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Strain the syrup into a container and cool to room temperature. The syrup can be made a day ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator.

Make the cocktails

In a blender, combine the syrup with the remaining ingredients. Blend on high speed until combined.
Divide into two chilled cocktail glasses. Garnish with additional sliced strawberries.