Let’s talk homemade slushees, delicious and easy homemade slushies to be exact!
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.
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.
This looks great! I have fond memories of the slushies we had in our youth, however, I don’t need the extra calories so I sprinkle a small amount of Crystal Light on crushed ice instead of sugar and extract. If you try it you should know that a little goes a very long way. I can have as many slush
Thank you so much for this recipe! Had to tweak it as the first time I put far too much liquid in! (I forgot that I’m British, not American, and a 1.2 quart machine would be 1.7litres… when my poor I’ve cream machine only holds 1l (0.8 quarts!) so with that on my mind I’ve only used 2 cups this time! Husbands happy as this is my 2nd pregnancy with a slush craving, but this is much much easier on the bank account!
Hi Loved your recipe. Now I’m definitely going to buy an ice cream maker. I someone once turned on to putting a shot of Jack Daniels Whisky into the blueberry water ices .FANTASTIC .Not what you would expect but now I can’t do without .,Thanks for,the great recipe.
Jenni ,North East.
I dont seem to get my crushed slushies right with my professional home slushie maker. No insyruction manual how to go about it. Even checked their website. Nothing. Please someone, help?
Its a Moulinex model. Blue and white.
Sorry I’m not familiar with that machine.
Perfect for the hot summer ahead of us!
Have you tried any other sugar or sweetener? We don’t use white sugar so I’m curious if there’s a sub.
Hi Heather, I haven’t, but I’m not sure it will work the same. Sugar freezes up pretty easily and predictably, where other substances probably have a lot more variability. No reason you can’t give it a try!
OMG, Christi, blue raspberry slushies were one of my absolute favorite frozen treats growing up! They were the best! I’ve outgrown them at this point :), but this seems like a great treat to make my nephews the next time they’re over. Thanks for the recipe!
I tried this with a blender but instead of water, add about 2 cups of ice and it tasted the same. ?
i dont know what color im going to do it but its for a girl sleepover also for boys tooo.i hope i could try two colors.
Hope it went well!! Your comment was posted on my birthday ?
So like, how do you stir the water together with the sugar? Like, would a rubber spatula work well enough, in a large bowl? And how do you transfer it into the ice cream maker from the large bowl? A funnel?
I bought one of these things based on your article and the freezer bowl is freezing, so if you could let me know by tomorrow morning, that’d be great, thanks.
-himbo
Himbo, yes, just a big enough bowl and spoon of any type. I just pour straight from my bowl into my ice cream maker freezer bowl, but I’m sure you could use a funnel if you like. Enjoy!