Orange Cranberry Sweet Iced Tea Cocktail Food

ORANGE BOURBON ICED TEA

Steps:

• Add the tea, bourbon, Clover Honey Syrup and orange juice to a pitcher and stir. Pour over ice in individual glasses.
• Combine the honey and 1 cup water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring, until the honey dissolves. Remove from the heat and let cool completely. Keep covered in the refrigerator up to 1 month.

CRANBERRY AND ORANGE ICED TEA

Steps:

• Use a vegetable peeler to peel the rind from the orange. Use a small sharp knife to remove the white pith from the rind.
• Place the rind and tea bags in a large heatproof jug. Pour over the water. Set aside for 20 minutes to infuse.
• Remove the tea bags and rind, and discard. Add the cranberry juice and sugar to the jug, and stir to combine.
• Cut half the orange flesh into small pieces and divide among 2 ice cube trays. Pour the tea mixture among the trays. Place in the freezer overnight. Cover the remaining tea mixture with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill.
• Remove the ice cubes from the trays and place in a serving jug. Pour over the tea mixture and serve.
• Time plan tip: Prepare this recipe to the end of step 4 up to 1 day ahead. Continue from step 5 just before serving. Picnic tip: Divide the ice cubes and tea among airtight bottles or jugs. Transport in your esky.

CRANBERRY ORANGE ICED TEA SPARKLER

Steps:

• Bring 1 quart water to a boil, then remove from the heat and add the tea bags. Steep the tea, dunking the bags occasionally, 10 minutes. Remove the tea bags. Add the cranberry juice and stir. Refrigerate until chilled completely, about 1 hour.
• Fill a tall glass a third of the way with the cranberry tea, then fill the rest of the way with the Italian orange soda. Add a heaping tablespoon of the cranberry cubes. Garnish with an orange zest curl and serve. Repeat with 11 more glasses and the remaining ingredients.

ORANGE-CRANBERRY SWEET ICED TEA COCKTAIL

Steps:

• Using a vegetable peeler remove the zest from the orange in long strips. Reserve the orange for another use. Prepare citrus syrup: Add the orange zest, 1 cup water and sugar to a small saucepot. Stir. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook until sugar is dissolved, about 90 seconds. Set aside to steep for 20 minutes. Using a fine mesh strainer, strain the solids from the liquid, pressing on the solids with the back of a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard solids. Place in refrigerator to cool. While the syrup is cooling make a strong tea. In a pitcher, steep 2 tea bags in 2 cups boiling water for 10 minutes.* Remove and discard tea bags. Add the chilled fruit juices and the vodka to a large punch bowl. Add tea and chilled citrus syrup to taste, ½ to 1 cup. Garnish with orange wedges. Chill and serve over ice.

LEMON-ORANGE ICED TEA

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, heat water just until it comes to a rapid boil. Remove from heat and drop in the tea bags. Cover and let steep for about 20 minutes.
• In a 2 quart pitcher, combine the steeped tea, discarding the tea bags, and the sugar or Splenda. Stir until dissolved. Continue to cool to room temperature. Stir in lemon and orange juice. Refrigerate until chilled. Serve over ice.
• Tips:.
• I find it best not to add the citrus until the tea is completely cooled. Even better to chill the cooled citrus tea, as recommended, to let the flavors meld. Also, cooling too fast brings out the tannin, causing cloudy tea. Should any tea become cloudy, just add a little boiling water to clear it up.