Blackberry Lime Margaritas

You guys! Tomorrow is the first day of May!

Can you believe it? I can’t. I have so many emotions right now.

First, I’m excited. I love the month of May. It is the first month around here that TRULY feels like spring, and it signifies my unofficial countdown to summer. I absolutely love this time of year.

Second, I am nervous. Apprehensive. Filled with a tinge of dread.

My maternity leave ends at the beginning of June. I hate to complain because I do get a full 12 weeks off, which is more than some people, but 12 weeks with an infant is simply not enough time. I never got it until I was a mom myself, but it is so, so true. So, I am sort of filled with…dread about May starting tomorrow.

I am grateful for the time at home with Finn, and I am grateful for the balance that working provides me, but I just wish I had more time at home before returning to work. These past 7 weeks have flown by at record speed.

To say I am feeling a lot conflicting emotions is an understatement. But! To help me cope, I am celebrating Margarita Week with the lovely Kate from Hola Jalapeño! What a perfect way to kick off a new month and to prepare for Cinco de Mayo next weekend! The creations for this blow me away every year. Thank you to Kate for organizing this awesome, boozy collaboration. It’s so fun.

My contribution this year is these blackberry lime margaritas. Simple, fruity, and tangy! Add a salt rim and I am one happy camper.

I think blackberries are such an underrated and underused berry. I know I’ve talked about this before, but I really do think they get the short end of the stick. Everyone is all about blueberries and strawberries. Even raspberries get more love. But blackberries are one of my faves!

Not only are they gorgeous, but they add incredible tangy, fruity flavor to so many things. Like donuts. And chocolate tarts. Heck, I even put them in grilled cheese! So good. I clearly love them in all sorts of recipes. They kind of make me think that whatever I add them to is automatically healthy. Because antioxidants. Duh.

It’s actually surprising to me that this is my first blackberry cocktail on the blog. Consider this the first of many!

These margaritas are super easy to throw together, especially if you keep a well-stocked bar. You will always find the ingredients to make a basic margarita in my house. Always.

These start with a quick and easy berry puree that you make simply by macerating blackberries with lime juice and sugar. Pressing down on the berries releases all of their juices and natural pectin. No machinery is necessary for this berry puree. Just some good ol’ fashioned muddling!

Once your berries are juicy and lovely, you throw everything for the margs into a cocktail shaker filled with ice and get a quick arm workout in. Pour into salt-rimmed glasses filled with ice and top off with seltzer (or champagne!) for an effervescent kick.

I love using a lime-flavored tequila for these because it really drives home the tanginess of the ingredients. That said, plain tequila will work juuuuust fine here.

The result is a fabulously fruity and tangy (but not overly sweet) margarita that is perfectly festive for spring. Oh, and these are ideal for washing down copious amounts of guacamole and chips, both of which are mandatory in this household for Cinco de Mayo.

Bring it on.

Blackberry Lime Margaritas

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• Yield: makes 2 cocktails (easily multiplied) 1x

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Ingredients

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• 4 oz fresh or defrosted frozen blackberries
• Juice of 2 limes, divided
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 5 oz lime-flavored silver tequila (or any tequila you prefer)
• 2 oz triple sec or Grand Marnier (any orange liqueur you prefer)
• Honey, agave, or simple syrup, to taste (I start with 1 tablespoon and add as necessary)
• Berry or lime seltzer, for topping off the glasses
• Salt, for rimming the glasses
• Additional blackberries and/or limes, for garnishing the glasses

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Instructions

1. In a small bowl, combine the blackberries, juice of 1 lime, and sugar. Mash with a spoon or muddler, so that most of the blackberry juices are released and there are no large chunks of berry. Set aside for 5 minutes while you prep the other ingredients.
2. Rim serving glasses with a cut lime and then dip in salt. Fill the glasses with ice. Pour 2-3 tablespoons of the macerated berry mixture into each glass.
3. To a shaker filled with ice, add the tequila, orange liqueur, juice of the remaining lime, and sweetener of choice (I like agave). Shake vigorously for a few seconds and then pour into the glasses.
4. Top each glass off with a splash of seltzer and serve immediately.