Freshly Squeezed Lemonade

When planning our lemonade stand, in my head, I knew there was NO WAY I wanted to sell fake lemonade.  It's delicious, don't get me wrong, but I wanted to have a genuine, freshly, squeezed lemonade. I knew that I needed water, sugar, and lemons, but we don't drink anything other than coffee, water, seltzer, and diet coke in our house, so I wasn't really sure of the proportions to use.  I went searching for a good recipe and decided to use this one. It's a fairly lengthy post, so if you just desire the simple lemonade recipe, scroll to the bottom.  The post has some great tips and tricks, so if you are like me, and need as much detail as possible to perfect a great outcome, then read the post from start to finish.

I made two batches of this recipe and when the homemade stuff was gone, our customers did get country time lemonade.  

First, cut up your lemons and juice them.

Then, strain the pits and pulp.

Next, make a simple syrup, boiling your hot water and sugar. This melts the sugar, making it a liquid sugar, and eliminates the hassle of having to stir solid sugar for hours into cold water.  

Then... combine all ingredients to make the lemonade.

Being lemons are fairly expensive, I decided not to waste any part of them.  

 I placed the halved lemons into a cupcake tin, filled it with water, and froze them.

This created a flavored ice cube for our oversized spicket, where our lemonade would be stored.  It made a wonderful presentation as well.

 Ahhhh, freshly squeezed lemonade.

 AND of course what good is lemonade without adorable cups and straws to drink it with.  

We topped it off with an adorable printable that read, "Keep Calm AND Drink Lemonade!"

If I must say so myself, the lemonade was FABULOUS. Perfect for a hot summer day, lemonade stand, baby shower, or what-have-you!