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This recipe, like many of mine comes from my mom. She’s made this Brandy Slush concoction for years and it’s always a great drink to have around the holidays. She originally found the recipe in an old Southern Living magazine years ago. If you know my mom, you know that she’s a proud born and raised Texan and definitely a Southern Living kind of gal! She cut it out of the magazine years ago and it’s been a keeper in her overflowing recipe box ever since. When I look up Southern Living’s recipe now, it’s a little different than my mom’s version. I don’t know if it’s been changed by my mom’s own trial and error over the years or if Southern Living has made changes to their recipe, but it’s still very similar. One difference is the current Southern Living’s Brandy Slush recipe calls for sugar. My mom and I don’t really think this is necessary. You have the sugar from the juice concentrates, plus the sugar from the soda you pour over the slush so we agree that additional sugar is not needed in the recipe.

I enjoy this drink year round because it keeps so well in the freezer. It’s great in the summer time as a dessert drink. This is an adult beverage with Brandy in it, but you can make it without the alcohol so everyone can enjoy it. It freezes solid when there’s no alcohol so you may want to just keep stored in a cooler or on ice, rather than in the freezer so it doesn’t freeze solid. If it does, just thaw for a few seconds in the microwave until it’s scoopable. If you make the full version with Brandy, it will keep slushy in the freezer so a batch will keep nicely it in the deep freezer to enjoy for months. We sometimes make a batch combining all the ingredients, except for the Brandy. Then we scoop some of the slush into a separate small  “kiddie bowl” and then add the Brandy to the larger bowl of slush. You may want to use less Brandy if doing it this way. My mom usually makes this at New Years and the ladies usually sip a little, and maybe giggle just a little while we play loud and boisterous games like ruthless rounds of Pictionary, Balderdash, Monopoly, my childhood favorite – Aggravation, and any other fun games we can think of. I’m pretty sure we all start to talk with a Southern drawl after a while. We are safe and smart and know when to cut it off, have designated drivers, or we just all have a huge slumber party. Please be safe and responsible, friends!

Brandy Slush

Ingredients:

4 small or 2 large tea bags, steeped in 2 C of boiling water. Let this cool a bit before making slush.

2 12 oz cans of frozen orange juice concentrate

2 12 oz cans of frozen lemonade concentrate

7 C water in addition to the 2 C of water you brew the tea in.

2 C Brandy

lemon-lime soda (7-up, Sierra Mist, or Sprite) to pour over slush

 

Directions:

Combine the 2 C of steeped tea water, 7 C of water, frozen lemonade, frozen orange juice, and Brandy in a freezer safe container.

Freeze for at least 2 hours or until slushy.

To serve, scoop out slush into serving glass and pour lemon-lime soda over slush.

Eat with a spoon, slurp it with a straw, or sip it like a southern lady. Anyway you have it, just enjoy and be safe!

Makes around a gallon of slush.

My mom and I were discussing possible ways to make it a red color for Christmas to change it up a bit. Possibly switching out the 7 C of water for cranberry juice may do the trick. If we try it, I’ll update you on how it turns out and take a picture of what it looks like.