Pink Peppermint Lemonade

How are you ringing in 2013? I'm ringing it in with Greg, and we will be sipping on this pink peppermint lemonade when the clock strikes midnight (or, we will be fast asleep...). A few weekends ago when we had Tara over to celebrate her birthday, I made this lemonade. I had some lemons that were on the verge of going bad, and Greg had mentioned that it would be nice to drink some bubbly basil lemonade. Well, since it is winter and there isn't any fresh basil growing, I needed to think of something else to jazz up the lemonade. Peppermints were the answer! I popped Starlight mints into the mixture, which turned it a beautiful pink color, and then I topped it off with club soda. It was really good. I had a feeling I was going to love the flavor, because when I was young I would buy a lemon with a peppermint stick stuck in the middle at every swim meet - it was my favorite summer treat. If you are looking for a nonalcoholic beverage to celebrate the New Year with, consider this pink peppermint lemonade. Enjoy, and have a very happy new year! Here's to a fab 2013!

Recipe for Pink Peppermint Lemonade

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/4 cups of water
1 1/4 cups of granulated sugar
8 round peppermint candies
4 1/2 cups of chilled Club Soda
2 cups of chilled water
Crushed or Cubed Ice
Extra peppermint candies for garnish, if desired

DIRECTIONS:
Bring the lemon juice, water, and granulated sugar to a simmer over medium high heat Stir the mixture occasionally. Once the mixture is simmering and the sugar has fully dissolved, carefully drop in the peppermint candies, one at a time. Stir constantly, until the red on the peppermint disappears and the mixture turns pink (the peppermints will not dissolve completely). Pour the hot mixture into a heat-safe liquid measuring cup (one that holds 3 cups or more). Discard the mints from the mixture. Stir, and set aside to cool. Once mixture has cooled a bit, place it into the fridge until ready to serve. It should be fully chilled before serving, so it might be best to let it rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving.
When ready to serve, pour the lemon peppermint mixture into a serving pitcher. Top it off with the chilled Club Soda and 2 cups of chilled water. Stir, and serve in glasses over ice. Drop a peppermint into each glass to give it the added red color at the bottom, if desired. Cheers!

Recipe makes 8 - 10 servings.

***Original Recipe***