When I first made the world-(in)famous margarita cupcakes back in early 2007, we used Jason’s recipe for margaritas, which were made with a bottled mix, and a boxed cake mix. Since then, we’ve become a little more serious about our cupcakes and our margaritas… I mean, as serious as one can get about cupcakes and margaritas 🙂
When I had to email and text our margarita recipe to more than 10 people in 3 days the week of Cinco de Mayo, I took it as a sign that we needed to post the recipe. We love our flavored margaritas, but we didn’t plant 2 dwarf lime trees in the back yard for nothing!
Our margarita starts with a homemade lime mix that took the place of the bottled mix we used to rely on. We then add silver tequila, orange liqueur (we’re digging Paula’s Texas Orange at the moment – it has a much cleaner orange taste and it’s less expensive that Grand Marnier) or orange juice (to save on sugar and calories), and all that goes over ice.
When you have margaritas as often as we do, two young lime trees aren’t nearly enough. A few times a year, limes will go on sale for 10 or more for $1. That’s when I buy as many as look good, get that “crazy cat lady” look from the cashier, and then come home and juice them all into containers/jars for the freezer. Fresh lime juice year round, for pennies!
How do you make your margarita? On the rocks or frozen? Do you have any secret or unusual ingredients?
Homemade Margarita Mix & Classic Lime Margarita
The refreshing classic margarita made with fresh limes - no bottled mixes here!
Ingredients
- For the homemade margarita mix:
- 1/2 cup sugar (or your favorite sweetener - I use 3-5 drops liquid stevia per serving)
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (~8-12 limes)
- For the margaritas:
- 1 recipe homemade margarita mix
- 3/4 cup (6 oz) silver tequila
- 1/2 cup (4 oz) orange liqueur
- lime wedges/slices for garnish (optional)
- *To make a skinny margarita, omit the sugar, skip the simple syrup step, and add the lime, water, and stevia straight to the pitcher. Click here for more information on how we make our margaritas: favorite tequila, orange liqueur, and how we lighten up those empty calories!
Instructions
- Heat water and sugar in a small sauce pan until completely dissolved and the water is clear. Let cool.
- Pour into a pitcher with lime juice. Homemade lime mix done! Leftovers will keep 7-10 days in a jar in the fridge.
- Add tequila and orange liqueur.
- Pour over ice and garnish with lime slices.
- To make a single margarita, add 1/2 cup lime mix, 1.5 oz (3 Tbsp) tequila, and 1 oz (2 Tbsp orange liqueur) to a small glass of ice.
- To make frozen margaritas, freeze the lime mix into ice cubes. Blend the ice cubes with chilled tequila and orange liqueur until uniformly slushy.
Notes
Yields: 4 6-ounce servings
Estimated time: 10 minutes