Looking for a non-alcoholic Springtime punch for a shower or luncheon? We have one that we love. You can change this up by adding an ice ring made with ginger ale and layered with fruit and mint leaves. A simpler version for a smaller crowd would be ice cube trays filled with ginger ale and an assortment of mint/fruit in the trays. Or floating orange, lemon, and lime slices also is a great look. This is easy, yummy, and also great because it can made be made the night before. This makes a very large amount, so feel free to adjust to your party size.
Vanilla Almond Iced Tea (if you are old-fashioned, you can certainly add Punch to the name!)
8 cups of water, divided
4 Family size tea bags
1 cup sugar
1 cup lemon juice
1/8 cup almond extract
1/8 cup vanilla
5 to 6 two liters of ginger ale, chilled
slices of orange, limes, and lemons to float on top (optional)
Boil 4 cups of water in a dutch oven. Steep 4 family size tea bags in the hot water for 10 to 15 minutes with heat off. Remove tea bags. Add 4 more cups of water. Add 1 cup of lemon juice, 1 cup of sugar, 4 cups of ice, 1/8 cup of almond extract, and 1/8 cup of vanilla. Stir until well blended. Freeze this in smaller containers to make party time a breeze. I prefer to freeze this in smaller plastic tupperware type containers (about a cup or cup and a half in each container). Set the containers out about an hour before the party. Right before the party, use a fork to loosen the ice to get a slushy mix. Transfer the tea mixture in a punch bowl. Add a 2 liter of ginger ale per container. Once 3/4 is gone, add another container of slushy mix and another 2 liter of ginger ale. Make sure you continue to partially thaw the containers of tea mixture.
This recipe makes approx. 80 punch cup servings. I halved this recipe recently and still have a container leftover. The container will keep in the freezer and I will pull it out for a spur of the moment Summer luncheon.
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