I love giving homemade gifts for Christmas. In the past, when I actually had time to do crafts, I would make cross-stitched wall hangings or something quilted like a quilt to curl up under while watching TV, table runners, or placemats. Something the receiver could keep and reuse during the holidays. This year, unfortunately, I just didn’t have any extra time to do any crafting, but I still wanted to give something homemade. Then I stumbled across a few recipes for how to make limoncello, and my dilemma was solved.

I love limoncello. It’s great to drink after a meal, and it’s super easy to make. I had sampled some homemade limoncello at Red Vespa in Solon, IA, when my husband and I went there for dinner. Not only do they make a mean wood-fired pizza, but they make their own limoncello and a killer tiramisu. I was inspired to make limoncello after that, and this recipe comes pretty close to what I had there.

I doubled the recipe below—everything except the number of lemons I used, that is. I wanted to make one bottle to keep and one bottle to gift this Christmas. Ten lemons are definitely enough to infuse 2 bottles of vodka.

I’ve seen recipes where you only soak the lemon peels for a few days, and I’ve seen recipes where you soak them for 4 weeks and every time length in between. I went with 4 weeks. I figured the longer the peels soaked, the more lemony the drink would be. I bottled the limoncello last night, and it was definitely worth the wait.

After this success, I’m going to try my hand at other vodka-infused liqueurs. I have a bunch of frozen blueberries, and in the summer and fall I have lots of fruit just waiting for me to do something fun with. I might even try to make homemade Kahlua, so I’m sure I’ll be posting future do-it-yourself liquor recipes in the future.

Limoncello

10 organic lemons

750 mL good-quality vodka (the better it tastes by itself, the better the limoncello will be)

3 cups sugar

2 cups water

Using a peeler, peel the yellow rind from 10 lemons. Make sure you don’t get any of the white pitch beneath the rind, as this will make the limoncello bitter. Place the lemon rind into a large glass container (I used a 2-quart Mason jar), and fill the container with the vodka. Place a lid on the container, and keep the mixture in a room temperature area out of the sun. Every day give the container a stir (or a shake in my case with the Mason jar). Let set for 4 weeks.

After the vodka mixture has sat for 4 weeks, strain out the lemon peels using a coffee filter or some cheesecloth. Set the vodka aside, and discard the peels.

In a small saucepan, combine the water and the sugar. Heat over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is completely dissolved. Let cool to room temperature.

When the simple syrup is cooled, combine it with the infused vodka. Pour into bottles or some other decorative decanter if you’re gifting the limoncello. Store in the refrigerator or freezer.

Visit Canning and Cooking Iowa Style’s profile on Pinterest.