Best Fresh Lemonade

This recipe come from the April 2013 issue of Relish, a newspaper insert. I saved it for just such a time as this -- summer in the Deep South.

The recipe suggested coating glass rims with Lemon Sugar and I’ve included that recipe. I’ll probably skip that step. I won’t be skipping the step to completely dissolve the sugar with boiling water. It really does make a difference in the final product. It's a secret I learned years ago when making Sweet Tea.

Best Fresh Lemonade

4 cups water
2 cups sugar
2 cups fresh lemon juice (about 10 lemons)
Lemon Sugar for glass rims

Boil or microwave 2 cups water with sugar until sugar is dissolved. Let cool. Squeeze lemons to make about 2 cups juice. Combine juice, sugar water and remaining 2 cups water. Stir well and chill.

Drip the rim of each glass in a shallow bowl of water. Coat the rims with Lemon Sugar. Serve over ice and additional lemon slices.

Makes 8 servings.

Lemon Sugar

4 lemons
1 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 225 degrees.

Peel lemons with a vegetable peeler or paring knife. Place peels on a baking sheet. Place in oven and let dry about 2 hours, until light tan in color. When thoroughly dry, grind peels in a coffee mill or in a food processor. Mix ground peel with sugar.

Makes about 1 1/3 cups.