Let’s talk homemade slushees, delicious and easy homemade slushies to be exact!
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One my daughter’s all time favorite treats is a blue raspberry slushie (or is that slushee, I never quite know). There is a little snow cone place near our home and she’s always finding ways to convince me that we need to go get snow cones. They are great, I’ll give her that, but I kind of want to fall over every time I pay a few bucks for what is basically a cup of ice.
And then there is the issue of the bright blue tongue and lips which make her look like she has hypothermia, and make me feel like I need to call the dentist. I figured there had to be a better way. And there is!
Oh yeah! Fabulous homemade blue raspberry slushies that have been declared “the best ever” by a very honest and incredibly picky ten year old. Woohoo! I have to admit, these turned out all kinds of awesome and are super easy.
When I recently found some McCormick’s Raspberry Extract at my grocery store, I knew I had to try and create a fun, summery, frozen drink with it. I am so thrilled with the results.
This recipe only calls for four ingredients… Water, sugar, McCormick Raspberry Extract and McCormick Food Coloring. My daughter picked the Neon Blue food coloring, but the regular blue would work as well. You can also make this without any food coloring.
I used my ice cream maker to make these, and let me tell you, it is ALL kinds of awesome for this. How I haven’t tried it before is beyond me. It makes PERFECT homemade slushees!
All of the ingredients are mixed up, then into the ice cream maker they go for 20 minutes.
And out came the perfect slushee consistency.
How cool is that???
This made four servings, about one cup a piece. The flavor was perfect and I loved that my daughter’s mouth and teeth were not some crazy shade of blue after she enjoyed her treat. It’s nice to be able to control the amount of food coloring in it.
If you don’t have an ice cream maker and have considered getting one, go for it. They are so easy to use, and I keep finding more ways to use mine (in addition to crazy delicious homemade ice cream). I have the Cuisinart Ice 20 1 1/2 Quart Machine and there is a newer model out for a few dollars more that comes in lots of fun colors.
If you want to make one without an ice cream maker I would try replacing two of the cups of water with ice, and making it in the blender. I haven’t tried that myself, so if anyone does, let me know how it goes.
If you love this recipe, make sure to check out my Disney Dole Whip Recipe as well! While the kids are enjoying one of these frozen treats, whip yourself up a Frozen Margarita or a Frozen Pina Colada!
Easy Homemade Slushies
Easy Homemade Slushee Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups of cold water
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp McCormick Raspberry Extract
- 4-6 drops of McCormick Neon Blue Food Coloring (or other color of your choice)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine water and sugar and stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Add in McCormick Raspberry Extract and stir well. Follow with 4-6 drops of McCormick Food Coloring to achieve your desired color. Stir well. Pour into your ice cream maker (this recipe was tested in a 1 and 1/2 quart ice cream maker) and turn on and run according to ice cream maker package directions. Let run for approximately 20 minutes or until desired consistency is reached. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition facts provided are calculated using a third-party tool and are estimates only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on the ingredients and brands you use, as well as portion sizes. For accurate results, please consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist.
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So much fun! I think next I’m going to try a vanilla version, which is what I typically get at the Snow Cone place we go. Though coconut and lemon sound pretty tasty as well, or even root beer! I’m sure we will be experimenting with this recipe quite a bit this summer. I might even have to try making margaritas in the ice cream maker. 🙂 Cheers!
Cute straws can be found at Sweets & Treats Boutique.
Originally posted in 2013
Meet Christi, Love From The Oven
I’m Christi I love sharing easy & delicious recipes that your family & friends will love. I’m a mom, baker, cookbook author and lover of sprinkles.
Soooo do you have a margarita recipe? 😉
Christina, I actually haven’t tried one in the ice cream maker, which is kind of insane! Probably because I have the big beast of a margarita maker. 🙂
Christi, if I freeze my ice-cream maker overnight, then use it make the 4 cup slushies as per your recipe, which will be for 4 people, will I be able to continue to make more slushies, or do I have to refreeze the drum again. I actually want to make 17 slushies for a teenager’s birthday party and am not sure I’ll be able to make that many if the drum has to be returned to the freezer.
Lynn, I haven’t tried doing more than a batch, but honestly I think 17 is going to be really hard with a small ice cream maker. The drum being frozen is what does all the magic, so it’s going to quickly start loosing efficiency. I think you’d either need multiple ones (maybe see if friends/family have some you could borrow) or even look at a large old fashioned style machine. I really only use my drum to make a single batch of anything and refreeze for at least 24 hours. Not saying it won’t work, but I wouldn’t want to count on it for a party.
You can purchase additional freezer drums from Amazon so that you could have more than one frozen and ready to use to make more than one batch. At $20 each that could get kind of expensive tho…
Did you freeze the ice cream drum first before you started to the slushie?
Sonya, yes, per the instructions that came with my ice cream maker, I always freeze it for at least 24 hours prior to use. I actually store mine in the freezer most of the time.
Your absolutely right about the $3 bucks or more….plus gas. I find I go out of my way for the kids and now grandkids. THANK with a capital T, for this one. ( I actually prefer the blue raspberry myself) but feel a little silly with a blue mouth at my age. Thank again. Can’t wait to try this!
Clever! I never knew I could use my ice cream maker to mix up slushies! My husband is going to go crazy for this. THANK YOU!! Pinning.
but if you let it run in the ice cream maker wont it just stay as water?
Laranya, I think the photos pretty clearly illustrate that no, it does not remain water.
I’ve been out slaving in the hot Texas sun working on draining & cleaning our pool and remember seeing this pin & thought “just what I need to cool off”. So yummy! Made it in my blender. Very good, but will reduce to one cup of water next time.
Made these today because I love slushes on a hot day. I left out the food coloring and called it “White raspberry” slushes. I thought if 1 1/2 teaspoon of extract was good, 2 teaspoons would be better- not true. Stick with 1 1/2. Delicious and addicting!
I wanted to say thanks for sharing this – I just made a batch today and am so glad I did. This was the perfect activity to do with my 5 year old on a hot, humid day.
Lovely work! Would you be happy to link it in to the current Food on Friday which is collecting snacks and treats? This is the link . I do hope to see you there. There are already quite a lot of links for you to check out. Cheers
This great! I am going to showcase this on my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/SeductionInTheKitchen you are welcome anytime to post your photo and post links on it!