Ever since I went to Italy I’ve loved Limoncello. It wasn’t until I had some homemade Limoncello given to me from a Navy spouse, who had lived in Italy, that I knew I wanted to make some Limoncello from scratch!
The process is really quite simple: Steep lemon peels in either Everclear (a potent grain alcohol) or vodka for a period of time, then add simple syrup and chill. The hardest part of the whole process is peeling the lemons and making sure you get all the pith off of the peel. Apparently the pith will make the Limoncello bitter so it’s important to make sure you don’t have any of the white stuff on the peel!
And don’t forget to add some Limoncello to your next Lemon Drop…or some baked goods!
PrintLimoncello
Ingredients
- 1 750ml bottle Everclear (you could use vodka)
- 10 lemons
- 3 C. sugar
- 3 C. water
Instructions
- Wash lemons with a vegetable brush and hot water to remove any reside of pesticides or wax; pat the lemons dry. Using a potato peeler, take all the lemon rinds off the lemons so there is no white pith on the peel*. Place the rind-peelings in a large container with Everclear alcohol. Cover the container and let it sit for seven days.
- On the eighth day, strain the peels from alcohol; discard peels.
- In a large saucepan, make a simple syrup by combining the water and sugar in saucepan, bring to a boil for a couple minutes. Remove from heat and let simple syrup cool to room temperature. Add to alcohol.
Notes
I like to keep my Limoncello in the freezer so it’s nice and cold when ready to drink!