The sudden onset of summer-like temps in Chicago has made us all a little giddy this week. When it’s 83 degrees on April Fool’s Day, the weather may be the greatest prank of all – few of us had work on our minds and the whole of the city itched to get outside as soon as the work day was done! Mark and I celebrated this bit of summer in the springtime by firing up the grill. We made burgers and thai coleslaw and dined on our balcony, with the sound of Lake Michigan providing the perfect soundtrack. And for the grand finale – another taste of summer, this sour cherry frozen yogurt.
I’m not sure if you can even find frozen sour cherries at the grocery, but they are a regional treat that I look forward to each summer and squirrel away in the freezer for winter. These bright red cherries make you pucker and your jaw ache with their tartness. This frozen yogurt highlights the tartness of the cherries perfectly and I love the tang that the thick Greek yogurt adds to the frozen treat. The mixture is equally good frozen into homemade popsicles if you don’t own an ice cream maker.
Sour Cherry Frozen Yogurt
Makes 1 quart
2 cups pitted frozen sour cherries, mostly thawed
1 cup frozen sweet cherries, mostly thawed
3/4 cup simple syrup (or 2/3 cup of sugar)
2 cups 2% Fage Greek yogurt
2 T tequila
squeeze of lemon juice
- Place the cherries, simple syrup, yogurt, tequila and lemon juice in the blender. Puree until smooth, if you like your fro yo a little chunky, just pulse the blender until you have your desired consistency. Chill thoroughly, then pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and churn. (When storing fro yo in the freezer for a few days, you’ll want to let the yogurt thaw on the counter for a few minutes before scooping, as it freezes quite hard due to the low fat content.)
139 cal per 1/2 cup serving, 10cal from fat, 1.4g fat, 20mg sodium, 90mg potassium, 27g carbs, 24g sugars, 5g protein
Bonus pic: This is one of the trio of sweet guest greyhounds staying at our house this week. Flyer was VERY interested in my frozen yogurt, and loves to hang with me out on the balcony (the other 3 hounds prefer to stay inside).
The Whole Kitchen 
Awww. Flyer is SO pretty!!! Please give him a BIG kiss from me 🙂
I’m not a lover or sour things that much, but I really like your recipe. What can I put in place of the cherries in the same recipe?
Isn’t Flyer a beauty?! He really uses those eyes to his advantage, too! He’s a counter surfer – grabs things off the counter to chew, but then looks at you with those eyes, and you can’t help but forgive him!
You could use any fruit in this recipe really – I’ve used it with frozen blueberries, strawberries, peaches, fresh mango (it’s almost alphonso mango season -YAY!)…switch it up with anything you like!
Delicious and beautiful fro yo… and what an adorable pup :).
Aww, thanks Lauren!
That sounds yummy. I’m going to try it with some strawberries for sure.
It’s great with strawberries – that’s a go-to option at our house. A little orange liqueur goes nicely in it as well. 😉