The day I found out pink lemonade was just regular lemonade with food coloring, I was shattered. It really hit me hard, but how could it not? I felt deceived. Even though no one ever explicitly told me otherwise, I grew up thinking pink lemonade was a flavor, something similar but different from regular.
Had I been able to articulate it at so young an age, I would have guessed a blend of juices from pink berries were involved. I would have never thought what turned out to be the truth: my tastebuds were just romanced by the chemically-created rosy hue. I mean, honestly, what the heck? I was duped!
My connection to pink lemonade and thinking it was something special started young. I remember the summers of my elementary school years, when my mom’s friend, Junie Bug, served it by the pitcherfuls at her pool parties. I will never know if hers was homemade, but probably not (it was the mid-1970’s after all).
Her house sat up on a shady hill, the pool down below, and on a hot day after making the drive to her house and traversing through the uneven pine thicket that was her yard to finally get to her back gate, my mother and I were ready for something cold. The way she asked if we would like a glass of pink lemonade sounded so sophisticated to my young ears. After pouring our drinks, she would fish out a maraschino cherry to put on top and stir a swirl of sweet ruby red juice from the bottle of cherries. It was wonderful. And it was not lost on me that no one went to that sort of trouble for Kool-Aid.
My pie gets its color from strawberries. No foolery, fakery, or artificial coloring. It is a most quintessential summer pie: deliciously tart and sweet, cold, and ice-creamy. It is easy enough to whip up for no occasion at all; in fact, I sometimes prepare it in a square pan and cut it into small pieces that I then place in a freezer bag for easy access, anytime bites. But it makes such a pretty pie you will want to include it in your summer get togethers or holiday celebrations.
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I tend to enjoy it most when it is more lemony than sweet. If you are of the same tartness persuasion, do as I do and use only about half a can of sweetened condensed milk. The whipped cream added to the filling will make up for any condensed milk you choose to leave out. You can make adjustments up until folding in the cream to get the balance just the way you want it. The same goes for the crust; choose plain or graham cracker according to your sweetness preference.
Our temperatures are on the rise, as is our humidity, so I have turned the page to my summer favorites. Pink Lemonade Pie was first on my list, and it is just as good as I remembered. You are going to love it!
Ingredients
1 graham cracker or regular pie crust, baked and cooled
6 ounces frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed, or make your own (see cook's notes)
4 large strawberries or a handful of raspberries
8 ounces cream cheese
1 can sweetened condensed milk (may not use it all)
1 cup heavy/whipping cream
3 to 5 lemons on hand for juice, if needed
Lemon Sweetened Whipped Cream:
3/4 cup heavy/whipping cream
2 to 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Zest of two lemons
Directions
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Place a clean bowl in the freezer.
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Bake crust according to package directions and set aside to cool.
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Using a blender or food processor, blend berries with lemonade concentrate.
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Whisk cream cheese, blended concentrate and sweetened condensed milk, adding up to 1/4 to 1/3 cup additional lemon juice to balance sweetness and tartness. Refrigerate while you whip the cream.
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Whip cold cream in the clean, cold bowl from the freezer until stiff, then fold into refrigerated cream cheese mixture.
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Spoon into crust and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.
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Before serving, make lemon-sweetened whipped cream.
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Whip cream. As it begins to thicken, add powdered sugar, then lemon juice and zest. Beat until fluffy but not stiff. Do not over beat.
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To serve, spoon a dollop of whipped cream onto individual slices, or spread all over pie, and garnish with thin half-moon slices of lemon, quartered strawberries, or even cherries, and mint leaves if desired.
Cook's Notes
-Make your own fresh lemonade concentrate:
Step 1: In a small saucepan, heat 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup sugar plus the zest of 2 to 3 lemons. Heat and stir to dissolve all the sugar. Allow to cool then strain to remove zest.
Step 2: 1 cup of lemon juice. Optional: Add the juice of half a lime for extra flavor.
Step 3: Add 4 large strawberries or a handful of raspberries to squeezed juice and blend in a food processor or blender.
Step 4: Once simple syrup is cooled, add all or most to the blended juice according to sweetness preference.
-If you want a more vibrant shade of pink, add a teaspoon (or a tablespoon) of fresh beet juice to the mix. You will not be able to taste it if that is a concern.
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