Bottling Sunshine – Limoncello

I've been wanting to make limoncello for a while now and just never had the gumption to do it until a wonderful friend of mine gave me some HUGE lemons from her lemon tree. MOTIVATION!

So today, I made limoncello, dawling!

Limoncello Recipe
2 bottles Vodka (750 ml each)
8-10 fragrant lemons
2 cups sugar
2 cups water

First, gently clean your lemons. Then with a peeler or zester, peel the lemons but avoid the the white pith (that makes it bitter).

Now add the lemon peels to a large clean glass jar with a tight fitting lid.

Time to pour one bottle of Vodka over the lemon peels. I got some Texas-grown Vodka – Dripping Springs Vodka – handcrafted in a proprietary copper still, blended with pure, mineral rich artesian spring water.

Once you've poured the one bottle of Vodka into the jar, seal it tight and give it a swirl.

Store in a cool, dark cabinet for 10-15 days until the lemon peels turn white but the liquid is yellow. Shake daily.

Once all the color has left the lemons, strain the lemony goodness through a double layer of moistened cheesecloth and into a bowl. Squeeze the last drops of intensely flavored liquid from the peel. Add the second bottle of vodka. 

Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved and the syrup just comes to a boil. Remove from heat and let cool.

Add the syrup to the lemon vodka. For a cloudy limoncello, add the syrup while still slightly warm.
Using a funnel, pour limoncello into sterilized bottles, seal tightly and let rest at least one week. The longer it sets; the better it gets!

Mine is setting in the cabinet until I shake it tomorrow. It's like a jar of sunshine in there. :)


Now...what to do with all these NEKKID lemons?!?!?!?!?

Stay tuned to see how this experiment turns out!