Shirley Temples with Homemade Cherry Grenadine
It’s the weekend and you probably would get a kick out of making this a little sooner than later… So I’ve decided to give you a fun-little weekend recipe. A bevvy with character, a childhood favorite that’s simple and refreshing and one I happen to still love!
Shirley Temple’s anyone?
I remember vividly. I was like 6, the place was Annie McPhee’s. It was like the ONLY restaurant in my then small town of Ortonville, Michigan. My family would get a giant pizza which came with the most amazing carb-loaded-house-made breadsticks I’d ever tasted. My sister Julie and I would kick back with a couple “Kiddie Cocktails” {aka A Shirley Temples}. I’d toss that orange slice aside and save the cherry for the very last. It was the forbidden fruit, that maraschino {which I still have to Google to spell check}, I could easily sit on the couch and eat a whole jar, even if I had to suffer from a tummy ache, it’d be worth it.
I like to use lemon-lime carbonated water, you definitely could use 7-up or Sprite but I think these are the perfect sweetness! My girls like these a lot and they’re crazy easy to make! You could also make other flavors and jazz these up by using different juices like pomegranate, currant or even blackberry! yumz.
Measure out 4 cups of cherry juice.
Add into a sauce pan…
…and bring to a simmer over moderate heat.
Reduce by half, which should take about 20-25 minutes.
Remove off of the heat and add in two cups of sugar. See? Who needs pop when you have all this sugar??
Give it a good stir and let cool completely.
Add some ice to a gigantic glass.
Add some of that fizz…
A little cherry syrup…
How purrrrty!
Complete with maraschino cherries and an orange wedge speared with one of those swashbucklers-sword toothpick thingies. So, so fun! {and thirst quenching!}
ENJOY!
Shirley Temple's with Homemade Cherry Grenadine
Ingredients:
4 cups Cherry Juice
2 cups Sugar
Lemon-Lime Sparkling Water
Orange Slices, for garnish
Maraschino Cherries, for garnish
A few Swashbuckler-Sword Thingies :)
Directions:
Heat the 4 cups of cherry juice over moderate heat until simmering. Reduce by half. Remove off of heat then add two cups of sugar, stir and let cool completely. Recipe makes about 3 cups of syrup. Leftover syrup can be stored in the fridge up to one month.
Fill glass 2/3 full of sparkling water, add a third of the cherry juice {more or less to taste} and garnish with fresh orange slices and maraschino cherries.
Over the past few years I’ve been on a mission to find and create recipes that I can make from scratch. I hope you enjoy the recipes on this blog as they are tried and true from my kitchen to yours! (
How long does the cherry juice keep? My girls loved Shirley Temples when they were kids and I'd love to surprise them with one now!
I'd say up to a month!
I loved Shirley Temples when I was a kid! I would always order them with extra cherries (the best part!), and I remember this one time they nearly added an entire jar of cherries to mine. I was in heaven.
This sounds really tasty and a lot more cherry flavored than just maraschino cherry juice in 7-up
I'm going to have to make these for my daughter too! I think I'll add some gin to Mommy's!
Ohhh Andrea, I think you're onto something!!
Laurie, you always impress me!
homemade Shirley Temples…brilliant!
Told blast from my childhood. Love that you made them homemade.
My family use to go a small local Mexican restaurant in my hometown and I would ALWAYS get Shirley Temples with extra cherries. I still get these every once in a while when I feel like being a kid again. Thanks for the blast from the past!
looks wonderful
Oh, I love Shirley Temples
I can vividly remember my first time drinking one, too. I was on a ship for a wedding reception and was gobbling up those maraschino cherries, haha. Then, I remember spitting the stems out over the side of the ship, lol.
But thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I love the homemade grenadine idea! Now, I have a question–is there a reason you
Laurie, thank you for this recipe! I love grenadine syrup, but I don't use it very often. If I make it, maybe I'll use it or freeze it. Blessings from Bama!
Shirley Temples bring me back to my childhood. Can't wait to try these at home. And I love that you used mason jars.
I love your blog, love the food you make and absolutely love your photos…you make everything looks absolutely fantastic.
I am honestly not sure I have ever had a Shirley Temple. I don't know how I made it through childhood without my parents letting me have one. We are going to have to have a serious talk this weekend, and then I will have to make these so I can try it!
Hester~ you totally could!
Wow, that looks delicious, actually!
Great recipe, and I love the homemade grenadine!
Absolutely LOVE these!! So cute.
I love shirley temples! You just made my day.
It has got to be at least 15 years (if not more like 20) since I had my last Shirley temple! That drink brings up so many memories it's silly. I can't believe I've never tried to make it. I'll give the cherry grenadine a try, but I'll probably skip on the maraschino (I also had to scroll up to cut and past the word) cherries for either the jarred sour kind or fresh now that I&
OMG I can't wait to try these. I'm pregnant and have to stick to mocktails so I am super excited to try this!
I grew up drinking Shirley temples on special occasions. I love them! I need one right now and this syrup sounds killer!
OMG THESE LOOK SOOOOOOO GOOD LAUREN~!! Like, I need to make them tonight!!
What do you use to add text to your photos now that picnick is leaving us??
made these today for my family… we loved them!!! thanks for the recipe