Cool Off

If you think a cold glass of lemonade is refreshing on a hot summer day, wait until you try this frozen treat, Lemon Italian Ice! There is no comparison. This is better, hands down. Your kiddos will think so too.

My son and I make this during the summer and it is the most refreshing thing I have probably ever had. The lemon mixture with fresh zest is just the perfect amount of tart and sweet and it is crazy how light and fluffy it is! Absolute heaven!

I absolutely love how easy this recipe is to make. So easy that my 11-year-old does most of the work. I pretty much just zest the lemons and he does the rest. Plus, it is basically 4 ingredients. Fresh lemons, sugar, salt, and water. So simple and relatively healthy compared to other frozen treats.

So as the weather warms up and you are looking for creative ways to cool off, give this a try. It is sure to do the trick!

Notes:

The trick to making this is to work quickly when you are processing the frozen cubes and keep the fluffy ice from melting. We had a container ready to go in the freezer and as soon as I emptied each batch from the blender to the container, it went back into the freezer. This really kept it light and fluffy and it never froze together.
To get 1 1/2 cups of fresh lemon juice, you will probably need between 8–10 lemons.
This makes a pretty decent sized batch so you can easily get 6–8 servings out of it.

INGREDIENTS
grated zest from 2 lemons
1 1/2 c fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 c sugar
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2 c water

GARNISHES (optional)
fresh raspberries
fresh mint leaves

STEPS

In a medium saucepan, combine the lemon zest, juice, sugar, salt, and water.
Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until the sugar is dissolved.
Allow the mixture to cool for about 30 minutes.
Pour the liquid into ice cube trays and freeze overnight.
Put 6–8 ice cubes at a time into a food processor or blender and pulse until all the cubes are broken up and you have a fluffy mixture.
Immediately transfer the “fluffy ice” to serving dishes OR a freezer safe container to be enjoyed later.
Repeat this process with the remaining cubes.
Garnish your Italian ice with some fresh raspberries and mint sprigs.
Store the leftover Italian ice in the freezer in a tightly covered container.
To serve later, remove the Italian ice from the freezer and allow it to sit for 5–10 minutes to help soften it up for scooping.