As summer winds down I feel as if we are stuck in that weird space that is the changing seasons. It's not quite fall but mornings bring a slight chill to the air and you can see some changes of color to trees. During the day though, it still approaches temperatures in the 90's, you yearn for pools to remain open and crave more days of lounging around, not a care in the world, with a cocktail in your hand. Well, friends, I'm here to remind you it is still summer so put those pumpkin spice lattes down and savor these last couple weeks of summer with some delicious spicy peach margaritas.
Peach season in the US tends to be from May to September and the peak season here in Colorado is late July to September. While there are many great options to put those juicy peaches to work, there's not a much easier one than these spicy peach margaritas. If you find yourself with too many peaches and not enough time to figure out what to do with them, may I suggest slicing them up and freezing them so that you may enjoy nature's bounty outside of peach season? Having a bag of fresh frozen peaches in the freezer will allow you to make these margs in a minutes notice. I find the best way to freeze them is to slice the peaches (I don't peel them because nobody has time for that), lay them on a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet and freeze for about an hour. Once partially frozen, you can pop the peach slices into a ziptop bag and won't have a difficult time separating them once you are ready to use them. You can also use fresh peaches for this margarita and just add slightly more ice to create the frozen margarita. Starting with frozen peaches allows you to use less ice which will increase the peach flavor.
How to make Spicy Peach Margaritas
To start making these peach margaritas, you will need to make the jalapeño simple syrup. Simple syrups are super easy to make and a great way to infuse flavors into drinks and desserts. They also keep in the refrigerator for a few weeks. Winning! For this spicy peach margarita, we will combine turbinado sugar (for a bit deeper flavor but feel free to use regular ol' white sugar) with a sliced jalapeno and water over heat until the sugar dissolves. Letting this mixture rest for about a half-hour will help deepen the flavor and increase the spiciness. Next, we will combine either fresh or frozen peaches with the jalapeno simple syrup, lime juice, tequila and some ice and blend. Pour into a glass, close your eyes and pretend you're on the beaches of Mexico with not a care in the world.
Have more peaches on hand? Check out my brown butter peach blondies for more peach recipe inspiration!
Spicy Peach Margaritas
Ingredients
Jalapeño Simple Syrup
- 1 cup turbinado sugar or white sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1 jalapeño sliced in half
Spicy Peach Margarita
- 2 oz jalapeño simple syrup
- 2 oz lime juice
- 4 oz tequila
- 2 peaches sliced and frozen, about 2 cups
Instructions
Jalapeño Simple Syrup
- Combine sugar, water and sliced jalapeño in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let steep for about 30 minutes. Strain into a jar or other container with a lid.
Spicy Peach Margarita
- Combine tequila, lime juice, jalapeño simple syrup and peaches in a blender. Add about 1 ½ cups of ice if using frozen peaches (3 cups of ice if using fresh) and blend until smooth. Pour into glasses and serve!
Notes
- If you'd like to rim the glass, you can use salt or my preference is a chile sugar rim. Combine 2 tablespoon sugar with 1 teaspoon chile powder and rub the rim of the glass with a lime wedge. Dip the glass into the sugar mixture to coat the rim.
- If you would like the margarita to be spicier, add a few slices of fresh jalapeño to the blender.
Terri Ball says
Do you have any pointers on how to make these on the rocks?
Tara Kringlen says
Hi Terri!
On the rocks would be delicious but I haven't tested it. Try pureeing your peaches (either frozen or fresh) and stir in 8 oz of the peach puree with the other ingredients in the drink. This would be about 4 oz of puree per drink since the recipe serves 2. Let me know how it turns out if you try it!