Easy, Boozy, Beautiful: Alcohol-Soaked Fruit Recipes To Serve This Summer

Sipping on a cocktail is so last season. This summer, instead, serve alcohol in the form of macerated fruit or frozen desserts. Who says you can’t have your cocktail and eat it, too?

Spiked Fruit Cup (above)
This decidedly adult snack puts the “cocktail” back into fruit cocktail. The mix of ripe fruit and alcohol reminds us of sangria – but eaten with a spoon.

Ingredients:
4 cups fruit, sliced or pitted if necessary
½ cup sugar
3 sprigs basil, plus leaves for garnish
1 ½ cup white rum, gin, or cachaca
Juice of 1 lime

How-To:
1. Place fruit such as strawberries, raspberries, grapes, pears, and plums in a large bowl. Toss with sugar and basil sprigs.

2. Stir in alcohol to cover fruit. Refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to 8 hours, stirring a few times.

3. To serve, remove basil sprigs, stir in lime juice, and garnish with basil leaves.

Tequila-Soaked Watermelon Wedges 

This grown-up fruit dessert borrows flavors from margaritas. Tequila and Triple Sec infuse the watermelon slices, which also get a spray of lime juice and a sprinkling of coarse salt. The longer the watermelon soaks, the more flavorful it becomes – one more reason to save any leftover slices.

Tomato Wedges with Flaked Sea Salt, Pepper, and Chilled Vodka

Ingredients:
Tomatoes
Flaked sea salt
Crushed black pepper
Vodka

How-To:
1. Cut tomatoes into wedges or halves. Season with flaked sea salt and crushed black pepper. Serve with glasses of chilled vodka.

Cantaloupe, Tarragon, and Vodka Sherbet  

Ingredients:
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup water
1/3 cup packed fresh tarragon leaves
½ ripe cantaloupe, peeled, seeded, and chopped (about 3 cups)
½ cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons vodka

How-To:
1. Bring sugar and water to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and add tarragon. Let steep 15 minutes. Pour through a fine sieve set over a bowl; discard solids. Refrigerate syrup until cold, about 15 minutes.

2. Puree cantaloupe and tarragon syrup in a blender until smooth. Transfer mixture to a bowl and stir in cream and vodka. Cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours.

3. Chill a loaf pan in freezer at least 10 minutes. Freeze and churn cantaloupe mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s directions, then transfer to pan. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until hardened, at least 2 hours; sherbet can be frozen up to 2 weeks ahead.

Boozy Blood Orange-Flavored Fruit 
Soaking fruit in blood-orange liqueur makes it even juicier and intensifies the flavor.

Bourbon-Poached Peaches 

Summer’s sweetest fruit is perfect when you simmer it in a heady bourbon syrup and pack it into jars. Spoon these peaches and syrup over vanilla ice cream, sweetened sour cream, waffles, or pancakes.

Ingredients:
4 pounds peaches (about 12)
2 ½ cups sugar
2 vanilla beans, split and scraped, pods reserved
1 cup bourbon

How-To:
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, prepare an ice-water bath. Cut a small X into the bottom of each peach. Boil peaches for 1 minute.

2. Transfer to ice-water bath. Let cool slightly. Peel and pit peaches, and cut into ¾-inch-thick wedges.

3. Bring 4 cups water, the sugar, and vanilla seeds and pods to a boil in a large saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add peaches and bourbon. Simmer until peaches are tender but still hold their shape, 5 to 7 minutes.

4. Transfer peaches to a large bowl using a slotted spoon. Cook syrup over medium heat until reduced by half, about 15 minutes. Pour over peaches. Let cool completely.

5. Divide peaches among five 12-ounce sterilized jars using a slotted spoon. (Jars can be sterilized by boiling in water, submerged, for 10 minutes.) Pour syrup over tops. Add vanilla pods to jars if desired. Seal jars, and refrigerate until ready to use.

More from Martha Stewart:
20 Classic Comfort Food Recipes from Martha Stewart
36 Dinners You Can Make in Just 15 Minutes!
42 Slow-Cooker Recipes Worth the Wait
DIY Dried Fruit Granola Bites
Very Green Cucumber and Pear Juice