A Duo of 'Cellos

I have enjoyed a love of baking for quite some time now.  If pressed, I would admit to an interest that spans a couple of decades (give or take), but frankly it's taken me that long to gather the confidence to go public. Hence the blog's subtitle (thank you, Eleanor Roosevelt). 

You probably don't want to read about one more holiday cookie, bar, pie, or cake recipe. You've eaten your fill of buttery and sugared cookie dough, right?  Your calendar did a great job reminding you of everywhere you had to go to celebrate December.  And politeness dictated that you sampled a bit of everything at each and every gathering, right?  Well, not to worry… January arrived and all of this indulging will go away…until…

The end of January!  If you get started, one or the other 'Cello recipe will be ready for consumption towards the end of the month, but certainly (if you delay) by Valentine's Day!  These citrus-y liqueurs are bright and bold.  Visually, the colors are impressive.  Serve chilled (we keep a small container in the freezer), perhaps with your feet up.  Mixed with a bit of tonic or sparkling water, they are a more gentle digestif.  They make wonderful gifts. 

LemonCello Recipe 
adapted from What's Cooking in America?

Ingredients

12 medium lemons

1- 750ml bottle of grain alcohol (like Everclear)

5 cups of water

5 cups of sugar

Clean the lemons under running water to remove any debris.

Using a vegetable peeler, take off the rinds, trying not to remove any of the white pith.

Place the grain alcohol and rinds into a glass container which will hold both.  

Cover and let steep for one week (I let it go for 2 weeks).  

When the week is up, make the simple syrup by stirring the water and sugar together into a saucepan over medium heat.  Let cool.  Strain out the alcohol from the rinds.  Combine the cooled syrup with the alcohol mixture.  Done!

LimeCello Recipe

Use 12 medium limes (instead of the lemons) and proceed as above.

CranCello Recipe?
What about another improv using cranberries!  Stay tuned...