Posts Tagged ‘vodka’


Orange Creamsicle Cocktail with Honest Fizz (and an Honest Tea Giveaway!)

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Is it a cocktail? Is it a dessert? Is it the best drink ever? Well, I’ll let you decide. But just for the record, I’m going with all of the above. Mostly because I love any and all things creamsicle flavor and also, vodka. And fizz, too. I know it’s not Friday, but man, don’t you wish it were? It’s actually only Wednesday. Have you actually ever met anyone whose favorite day is Wednesday? No. You never hear people say, “I just LOVE Wednesdays; they’re the best!” In fact, more people probably love Mondays than love Wednesdays since at least Monday offers you the opportunity for a fresh start. Wednesday is the worst, other than Tuesday, which I’d basically vote out of the week if I had that kind of authority. I’m just all set with you, Tuesday and Wednesday; stay away. Only don’t, because we need you in order to get to Friday.

While Cocktail Friday is kinda my thing, sometimes I think Cocktail Wednesday is more appropriate. So this week I’m doing it. And not just Cocktail Wednesday, but Ice Cream Wednesday and Vodka Wednesday, too. Might this just be the best Wednesday ever?

A couple weeks ago, Vijay of NoshOn.It sent me a whole bunch of Honest Tea products, including their brand new Honest Fizz, and I immediately knew I needed to create a cocktail. And I knew it had to be with Orange Pop because orange soda is one of my faves. Except with Honest Fizz, I don’t have to drink my calories. Because there aren’t any since the soda is sweetened with Stevia. This is awesome for me since I really don’t drink much soda at all. Even diet kinda skeeves me out… But I know I can feel good about the Honest Tea brand, so I’m very excited to have these in my life for when I soda craving hits.

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Right now, Honest Fizz comes in Root Beer, Lemon Limey, Professor Fizz (um, cherry?), and Orange Pop flavors. Yes, I’m a little confused as to why the cherry is labeled “Professor,” but I’ll let it go since it’s delicious. I’m also thrilled to have a zero calorie Root Beer drink.

Orange Creamsicle Cocktail with Honest Fizz (makes 2 drinks):

Print this recipe!

  • 1 C orange juice
  • 2 C vanilla ice cream
  • 5 oz. vodka
  • 1 t vanilla
  • 12 oz. Orange Pop Honest Fizz
  • Fresh orange, for garnish (optional)

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I decided to get a little fancy with my cocktail and whip up an orange reduction to boost the orange flavor profiles in my drink. I should make it clear that you don’t have to do this if you’re looking to make a super quick and easy cocktail. Just the Honest Fizz with ice cream, vodka, and a little vanilla would make a delicious cocktail in about 2-minutes flat. You know me; I just like to get a little crazy sometimes.

Basically, I brought one cup of orange juice to a boil in a medium saucepan and let it simmer until it was reduced by about half. Then I popped it in the fridge to chill.

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When the orange reduction is chilled, plop your ice cream in two glasses. And yes, plop is my favorite verb.

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Divide orange reduction, vodka, and vanilla between the two glasses.

And then pour Orange Pop Honest Fizz into glasses to completely fill.

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You could also garnish with an orange. Which was my original intent. As you can see from the above image, I even sliced one up! But somehow, it didn’t land in my drink. Orange fail.

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But no matter because this orange concoction was already a pure delight and it didn’t really need that extra garnish! A red striped straw did the trick, anyway. The drink was full of orange flavor and the vanilla ice cream and extra vanilla extract definitely gave it that delicious creamsicle taste.

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Plus, I love the way the Honest Fizz combined with the ice cream to bring forth the perfect frothy fizz. There’s nothing better than that.

I keep forgetting that there’s vodka in this drink, but hello, that’s what makes it a cocktail. Which is what makes my Wednesday wonderful.

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Hooray for cocktails! With zero calorie, naturally sweetened soda! I’m pretty sure Honest Fizz is one of those drinks I’ll always have a box or two of in my pantry for when the cocktail craving hits (which is quite often these days!).

And now I want you to have a chance to try it!
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30 Days of Honest Fizz Giveaway!

Want to try Honest Fizz for yourself? Well, I’m giving away 30 days of it to one lucky reader! Enjoy the new bubbly brew—all the fun of a natural soda with zero guilt and hopefully you’ll find it a sip in the right direction. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling me which Honest Fizz flavor you’re most excited to try by Wednesday May 29 at 11:59 p.m.

Want extra entries? 1) Follow @wearenotmartha on Twitter, 2) follow @honesttea on Twitter, 3) “like” We are not Martha on Facebook, and 4) “like” Honest Tea on Facebook, 5) “like” NoshOn.It on Facebook. Be sure to leave a separate comment for each extra entry (will count even if you’ve previously been following!).

Good luck and happy Cocktail Wednesday!!

[Sues]

Disclaimer: Samples of Honest Tea products and the giveaway items were provided to me by Honest Tea through the NoshOnIt Publisher Partner Program.

Three Olives S’mores Vodka Cupcakes

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There’s a lot of debate over flavored vodkas and whether or not so many of them should exist. I won’t get into that here. Because you already know I feel about them. I just plain love them. Both to drink and bake with. I’ll never tell anyone to stop making alcohol that tastes like Fruit Loops or birthday cake or root beer or any other amazingness they can come up with in the future. Because sometimes it’s good to lighten up and have a little fun with your cocktails. The first time I heard of Three Olives brand vodka was when I heard about Bubblegum vodka. The idea totally blew my mind and I ordered a bubblegum cocktail while out to dinner one night. It was insane (in a fabulous way) and while I’m not going to chug flavored vodkas every night of the week, I can tell you I never looked back.

While I love whipping up a cocktail with a flavored vodka or mixing one with soda water, I also love baking with them. Because baked goods and alcohol? Putting two of them best things in the world together makes the double best thing in the world. Or something like that. When Three Olives reached out to me to tell me about some of their new vodkas and offer some cocktail recipes, they also offered to send me some of their S’mores vodka. Y’all know how I feel about s’mores so this was RIGHT up my alley. I’ll definitely be sharing a cocktail recipe soon, but first, I just couldn’t wait to add the vodka to some cupcakes. And frosting.

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Three Olives S’mores Vodka Cupcakes (makes 1 dozen):
Print this recipe!

  • 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3/4 C sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 C flour
  • 1/2 C cocoa powder
  • 1 t baking soda
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 1/2 C milk
  • 1/2 C warm water
  • 1/8 C Three Olives S’mores vodka
  • 1/2 recipe marshmallow fluff (or 1/2 C purchased Fluff)
  • 1 recipe Three Olives S’mores Vodka Frosting (see below)

pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

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In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar together.

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Add egg and mix to combine.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.

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Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients, alternating with milk, until just blended.

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With a spatula, stir in warm water and vodka, until batter is just combined.

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Fill cupcake tins lined with cupcake papers 3/4 way full of batter.

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Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.

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Cool in pan for a bit and then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

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You can make the marshmallow fluff now. Or open your container of the store-bought stuff. I’ve said this a million times before, but I’m obsessed with making Fluff. It’s so easy and kind of fun and just awesome. Do it.

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Once cupcakes are cool, core out the center.

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Another thing I’ve said a million times before is that I’m obsessed with my Cuisipro Cupcake Corer. Best invention on Earth.

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Fill the inside of the cupcake with luscious marshmallow fluff. Now this is starting to looks like a Hostess Cupcake!

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You can replace the cupcake center on top of the fluff if you want; or just leave it open as you’re about to cover it with frosting!

Frosting time!

Three Olives S’mores Vodka Frosting (makes enough to frost 1 dozen cupcakes):
Print this recipe!

  • 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2 1/2 C powdered sugar
  • 1/4 t salt
  • 1/4 C Three Olives S’mores Vodka
  • 3 graham crackers, crushed

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In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth.

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Slowly blend in the powdered sugar, cup by cup until well-combined. Pour the vodka in now, as well.

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Put your graham crackers in a plastic bag to crush.

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And mix the crumbs into the frosting with a spatula.

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Now you can frost the cupcakes. I originally tried to pipe the frosting on. But the graham crackers kept getting stuck in the pastry tip, so I gave up and just spread it on instead.

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Then I stuck half of a little chocolate bar onto the cupcakes.

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I totally considered making a marshmallow based frosting and torching it for a s’mores campfire-y feel. But then I realized that probably wouldn’t be the smartest idea, what with the vodka and all. Good thinking, Sues.

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So, there’s really nothing not to like about these cupcakes. I mean, chocolate, marshmallow, frosting, and VODKA. Can you argue with that?

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Plus, s’mores. My favorite flavor combination means that it’s almost summer when s’mores EVERYTHING is acceptable! I’m not really sure how many more s’mores related treats I can even conjure up at this point, but you know I’m going to try. And this vodka will help immensely.

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I rest my case that vodka goes with everything. This cupcake was super moist and I’m giving credit to the vodka. The frosting? Had the BEST most s’mores like flavor; the vodka really came through here and combined perfectly with the graham cracker crumbs.

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Also, when you cut the cupcake open, it totally looks like a Hostess Cupcake. But I’m 100% certain this is better. Because Hostess Cupcakes don’t involve vodka in their baked goods, do they? Nor do they taste like s’mores. Sheesh. It’s no wonder Hostess is going out of business.

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I could save that business. Or maybe Three Olives could. Because they legitimately have a vodka for every flavor you could dream of. And I hope they keep adding to their lineup… and that they offer me a job as a vodka flavor taste tester. I was made for that job.

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And with this blog post, I give you permission to put vodka in all of your baked goods. And to kick your s’mores season off. Today is Monday, so I’m pretty sure that’s exactly the news you needed to hear, yes?

What’s your favorite flavor of vodka?

[Sues]

Disclaimer: Three Olives did send me this FABULOUS bottle of S’mores Vodka, but I decided to make cupcakes on my own and all opinions are my own! Thanks Three Olives :)