Margaritas With A Twist for Cinco De Mayo

Cinco De Mayo is tomorrow and when most people think of this Mexican holiday, they often think of Margaritas (I do). This year, instead of partaking in the same old standby, here's a few interesting variations on the classic that I think you might enjoy!

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Hawaiian Margarita

Ingredients:

• Cup Ice
• 1 1/2 oz Tequila
• 1/2 oz Triple Sec
• 2 oz (fresh or frozen) Strawberries
• 2 oz (fresh or canned) Pineapple
• dash of Sour Mix

Directions:

Pour all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour contents into a chilled margarita glass. Garnish with the strawberries and pineapple.

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Photo/recipe courtesy Shape.com

Hibiscus Margarita

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Lime wedge
• Ice cubes
• 4 ounces hibiscus syrup (recipe below)
• 1 1/2 ounces 100 percent agave blanco tequila
• 1 ounce sparkling water
• Garnish: lime wedge or cinnamon stick

Hibiscus Syrup (makes about 3 ½ cups):

• 4 cups water
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 cups dried hibiscus flower

Directions for the Hibiscus Margarita:

Combine the sugar and cinnamon on a small plate. Moisten the rim of the glass with the lime wedge, dip the glass in the cinnamon sugar, and shake off the excess. Fill a 12-ounce glass with ice and pour in the tequila and hibiscus syrup. Top up with sparkling water. Stir carefully. Squeeze the juice from the lime wedge you used to prepare the glass rim on top of the drink and discard the wedge. Garnish with a fresh wedge of lime or a cinnamon stick. 

Directions for the Hibiscus Syrup:

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer over low heat until the sugar is dissolved, stirring often. Cook at a slow simmer for 30 minutes. Let stand for 2 hours (or as long as overnight), then strain into a storage jar, pressing down on the flowers. Keeps indefinitely refrigerated.

Variation: Chill a 7-ounce martini glass and prepare the rim as described. In a shaker jar, combine the ice, hibiscus syrup and tequila, along with 1 tablespoon Cointreau or Grand Marnier. Cover tightly, shake well for 15 seconds, and strain into the glass. Garnish with a thin slice of lime. 

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Margarita Popsicles

Photo courtesy HWTM

Ingredients: 

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• 2 tablespoons tequila
• 2 tablespoons orange liqueur (recommended: Grand Marnier)
• Kosher salt, for garnish

Special Equipment: 
4 small cups (recommended: Dixie), 4 popsicle sticks

Directions:
Combine sugar, lime juice, water, lemon juice and orange juice in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Once cool transfer to a blender with tequila, orange liqueur, and lime wedge and process until smooth. Pour into the cups and cover the top of each cup with foil. Place the popsicle stick in center of cup (down through foil, which will hold it in place). Freeze until hard, preferably overnight. Remove from freezer and run cup under warm water to loosen popsicle. Garnish with kosher salt and serve. Enjoy!

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse/Food Network

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Photo/recipe courtesy browneyedbaker

Margarita Cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the Cupcakes:

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• Zest and juice of 1½ limes
• 2 tablespoons tequila
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup buttermilk

To Brush the Cupcakes:

• 1 to 2 tablespoons tequila

For the Tequila-Lime Frosting:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2¾ cups powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 2 tablespoons tequila
• Pinch of coarse salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
3. In an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter and sugar together until pale, light, and fluffy (about 5 minutes).
4. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and add the eggs one at at time, mixing thoroughly after each addition.
5. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the lime zest, lime juice, vanilla extract and tequila. Mix until combined. (The mixture may start to look curdled at this point, but don’t worry, it will all come back together, power on!)
6. Reduce the mixer speed low. Add the dry ingredients in three batches, alternating with the buttermilk in two batches. Mix only until just incorporated, using a rubber spatula to give it one last mix by hand.
7. Divide the batter between the muffin cups. Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until just slightly golden and a skewer shows only moist crumbs attached, rotating the pan at the halfway point.
8. Allow cupcakes to cool for 5 to 10 minutes, and then remove to a cooling rack. Brush the tops of the cupcakes with the 1 to 2 tablespoons of tequila. Set the cupcakes aside to cool completely before frosting them.
9. To make the frosting, whip the butter on medium-high speed of an electric mixer using the whisk attachment for 5 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium-low, and gradually add the powdered sugar, mixing and scraping the sides of the bowl until all is incorporated. Give it a mix on medium speed for about 30 seconds. Add the lime juice, tequila and salt mix on medium-high speed until incorporated and fluffy. If the frosting appears a bit too soft, add some additional sugar, one spoonful at a time until desired consistency is reached. Frost cupcakes and garnish, if desired, with lime zest, an additional sprinkling of salt and a lime wedge.

*Note: If you would prefer to not use liquor in these cupcakes, you can absolutely omit it from both the cupcakes and the frosting with no problem. If you do omit it, I would add 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract to the frosting.