Description
Homemade cherry almond cream cheese spread combines tangy cream cheese with sweet cherries and crunchy almonds. Delightful on bagels or crackers, this simple spread provides a quick and elegant appetizer for gatherings or quiet moments alone.
Ingredients
Scale
- 4 large ripe peaches
- 6–8 regular-size black tea bags
- ½–1 cups (100–200 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 pinch baking soda (optional)
- 2 cups (475 ml) boiling water
- ½ cup (120 ml) lemon juice
- 6 cups (1.4 liters) cold water
- Ice (as needed)
Instructions
- Preparation: Peel peaches, remove pits, and divide into two groups for distinct purposes.
- Garnish Creation: Slice one set of peach halves into delicate wedges, arrange on parchment-lined baking sheet, and freeze for a minimum of four hours until completely solidified.
- Tea Infusion: Steep black tea bags in boiling water, covered, for ten minutes to extract robust flavor.
- Sweetening Process: Remove tea bags, dissolve sugar completely, and allow liquid to cool slightly.
- Peach Transformation: Chop remaining peaches, blend with lemon juice until achieving a smooth, velvety puree.
- Juice Extraction: Strain peach puree through fine mesh sieve, pressing gently to maximize juice yield.
- Mixing Stage: Combine strained peach juice, sweetened tea, cold water, and a hint of baking soda in a large pitcher, stirring thoroughly to integrate flavors.
- Chilling Phase: Refrigerate mixture until thoroughly cooled, allowing flavors to meld and intensify.
- Serving Finale: Fill glasses with ice, pour chilled peach tea, and garnish with previously frozen peach wedges for a visually stunning and refreshing beverage.
Notes
- Peach Preparation Pro Tip: Separate peach halves into two groups – one for freezing as garnish, one for blending – to maximize flavor and presentation.
- Freezing Garnish Hack: Allow at least four hours for peach wedges to solidify completely, ensuring they maintain shape and provide icy coolness when serving.
- Tea Brewing Precision: Cover tea while steeping to lock in heat and extract maximum flavor, ensuring a rich and robust base for the peach tea.
- Puree Perfection: Strain peach mixture through fine mesh sieve to achieve smooth, pulp-free juice that blends seamlessly with tea for a silky texture.
- Prep Time: 4 hours 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Breakfast, Snacks
- Method: Blending
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 9
- Calories: 60
- Sugar: 7 g
- Sodium: 0 mg
- Fat: 1 g
- Saturated Fat: 0 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 15 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg