Friday Recipes: Iced Tea

With warmer weather here, I've started making iced tea again. 

I often take the lazy way and just plop in the Lipton Cold Brew tea bags, but Brenda has so many great iced tea recipes on the site that I've decided to try a few varieties. 

Here are some of the tasty sounding iced tea recipes I found on Ol Fashioned Living. Can't wait to give them a try!


Honey Apple Tea

4 black tea bags
1/3 cup honey
3 cups unsweetened apple juice
3 cups boiling water
lemon slices

In a 2 quart pot, brew tea bags in boiling water. Remove bags, add honey and apple juice. Stir well. Pour over ice. Makes 6 to 8 servings.


Fruit Tea Punch

1 cup honey
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup fresh fruit, crushed
1 1/2 cups fresh, strong tea
1 pint ginger ale

Mix all ingredients except ginger ale. Just before serving add ginger ale and crushed ice. If the punch is too strong for your taste you can dilute with ice water or more ginger ale.


Cinnamon Apple Cooler

1 1/2 cups boiling water
6 Cinnamon Apple tea bags
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 cups cold water
1 cup grape juice
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Club soda, chilled

In teapot, pour boiling water over teabags; cover and steep 5 minutes. Remove bags; stir in sugar and cool. In pitcher, combine tea, cold water and juices. Serve in ice-filled glasses with a splash of soda. Garnish, if desired, with lemon slices.


Apple Spiced Iced Tea

3 cups apple juice or cider
3 cups boiling water
6 black tea bags
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1/3 cup honey

Add tea bags to boiling water. Let stand 15 minutes. Remove and add allspice, honey and apple juice. Simmer over low heat until honey is blended, about one minute. Chill. Serve over ice with lemon slices if desired. Store in a covered pitcher in the refrigerator.


Strawberry Yogurt Cooler

2 rosehip tea bags
2 cups boiling water
2 cups plain lowfat yogurt
3 tablespoons honey
1 cup sliced strawberries

Steep the tea bags in a small teapot or bowl for 10 minutes, covered. Remove tea bags. Place the yogurt, berries, and honey in a blender. Blend until smooth. Add the tea to the yogurt mixture, and blend until smooth. Serve over ice.


Mint and Lemon Iced Tea

3 cups of boiling water
4 black tea bags
2 fresh mint sprigs
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
5 cups cold water
Fresh mint and sliced lemon for garnish

Use the boiling water to brew the black tea with the mint sprigs for 5 minutes. Strain or remove tea bags and mint. Add sugar and lemon juice, stirring until sugar dissolves. Stir in cold water. Serve over ice, garnish with fresh sprigs of mint and a slice of lemon. Makes 8 servings.


Warm Weather Tea Punch

2 cups water
2/3 cup sugar
3 Tbsp. fresh mint
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 cups strong brewed tea
1 1-liter bottle cold club soda
Flower ice cubes

Place water, sugar and mint in a large pan and bring mixture to a boil. Remove from heat and let steep for 20 minutes. Strain mixture and place in a large pitcher. Add orange juice, lemon juice and tea to the mint water. Chill. Just before serving, add club soda to the tea punch after you place in the bowl. Serve in punch bowl with flowered ice cubes-recipe below.

Flowered Ice Cubes: Filling ice-cube trays half full with water and place an edible blossom or petal on water in each cube. Freeze until firm, then fill the tray with water and freeze again. You can use:

Sweet William-dianthus
Violets, Johnnie Jump-ups or pansies
Scented geraniums blooms
Mint or lemon balm leaves
Borage or angelica blooms
Calendula blooms if they are small enough

Be sure they are pesticide and bug free!


Strawberry Iced Tea

1 pint fresh strawberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
5 cups boiling water
5 tea bags-green or black tea
1 can (12 ounces) frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
1 quart sparkling water, or seltzer
Ice

Clean and trim the strawberries. Place them in a bowl with the sugar-mix to coat and set aside. Steep the tea bags with the boiling water for 5 minutes. Remove tea bags and cool. Stir the cooled tea into the strawberry mixture. Add the lemonade. Place in a large pitcher and chill. Before serving stir in the seltzer and pour over ice cubes in pretty glasses. Makes 12 servings.


Almond Vanilla Iced Tea

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1 quart of strong tea-any black or green variety

Combine all the ingredients and pour over ice cubes in tall glasses.


Summer Herb Tea Punch

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 sprig lemon balm
5 sprigs borage (young leaves best)
1 sprig salad burnet
3 anise or anise hyssop leaves
2 cups of hot black tea
Juice of 3 oranges
Juice of 2 lemons
ginger ale
Fresh Mint

Pound the sugar, salt and herbs in a mortar or a bowl with a wooden spoon. Pour the tea and fruit juices over them. Cover and allow to stand for several hours. Strain and pour over ice in the punch bowl, fill the rest of the way with ginger ale. Use fresh mint to float as a garnish.


More you might like:

Friendship Tea Recipes
Tea Time Recipes & Afternoon Tea
Edible Flower Recipes