an update to a classic mimosa, these winter citrus mimosas are lightly sweetened with a homemade blood orange & honey syrup. the deep flavor of the blood orange & the floral sweetness of the honey are balanced perfectly with bright acidity of grapefruit.   winter citrus mimosas are SO easy, elegant, & most importantly: seriously delish.  invite your best gals over for a weekend brunch & enjoy winter citrus mimosas aplenty…& hell, i’ll definitely say cheers to that!

this Recipe for Later!

eeek, valentine’s day is right around the corner & i couldn’t be more excited!

i know that lots of people are all “bah humbug valentine’s isn’t a real holiday blah blah,” but I am TOTALLY not one of them.  any holiday centered around showing appreciation for loved ones (& spoiling dem with treats!) is SO up my alley, it’s not even funny.

oh, & the fact that valentine’s day is practically synonymous with chocolate…

so…there’s that…

at the top of my list of loved ones i plan to spoil this valentine’s (after chris, of course, but more on that next week…), are my closest girlfriends.  

my five besties are some of the smartest, most vibrant, fiercely supportive, & friggin’ hilarious women i’ve ever encountered.  to say i’m grateful to have this close-knit, kick ass girl tribe would be a total understatement.

because truth be told, making new friends as a post-grad 20-something was really hard & really scary.

the summer before our wedding, chris & i moved from milwaukee, my college town, to minneapolis.  the move was something we both wanted tremendously, as it brought us closer in distance to both of our families.  & as optimistic as i felt about the move & about our future, the one completely terrifying aspect of it was saying goodbye to friendships that matured over the course of a better part of a decade.

i thought it would be impossible to make new friends in minneapolis that could ever even compare to my childhood or college friends.  & i tried to be okay with it, but it was lonely as hell.

this all changed just over a year ago, when i decided on a whim to attend a group workout with some other women local to msp who did the same workout program that i did. after the initial meet up, we would occasionally work out together, which turned into grabbing a weeknight dinner every so often, to introducing our hubbys & s.o.’s to each other, to celebrating the most epic friendsgiving together, to holding each other up through life’s ups & downs, to…you get the point.

what started out as a fun group of workout buddies ended up developing into so much more.  it’s a sisterhood-like friendship for which i’m SO beyond grateful.

so to celebrate these gals & our friendship’s one-year anniversary, it is only appropriate to host a kick ass galentine’s celebration.  

i’m kind of obsessed with the idea of galentine’s day.  if you’re not familiar with it, galentine’s originated as a fictitious holiday on the show parks & rec.  every february 13th, leslie knope & her girlfriends would ditch their guys & have a girl date over brunch.

umm…besties + brunch = heaven???

& in my world, it isn’t brunch without mimosas.

winter citrus mimosas with blood orange & honey, that is.  

guyyyyyyyysssssssss, i DIE for these winter citrus mimosas.  

correction: i just DIE for winter citrus.  i mean, c’mon:

blood oranges are my favorite winter citrus by far.  you can usually find them through the end of february in 3-lb bags at trader joe’s or in the produce section at whole foods.  they’re less acidic than your typical orange, & have a richer, almost berry-like flavor.  plus they’re SO gorgeously moody-looking.

oh hai, lover.

winter citrus mimosas start with a blood orange & honey syrup.  the flavors of blood orange & honey naturally pair together really nicely, but instead of just using fresh-squeezed juice, i opted to make a quick syrup.  

the deep flavor of the blood orange & the floral sweetness of the honey are balanced perfectly in this syrup with the bright acidity of grapefruit & lemon.  plus, the color!!!…i die.

top with some chilled prosecco (no need for anything fancy here, a $10 bottle is just fine!), pair with a batch of mini chai scones with maple chai glaze or a frittata (or both!), & you’ve got yourself the makings of  a seriously galentine’s-worthy girl date.

cheers!

winter citrus mimosas

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star No reviews

• Author: jess larson | plays well with butter
• Prep Time: 15
• Total Time: 15 minutes

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

---

Description

an update to a classic mimosa, these winter citrus mimosas are lightly sweetened with a homemade blood orange & honey syrup

---

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

for the blood orange & honey syrup

• 3 blood oranges, juiced (about 1/2 cup)
• 1/2 grapefruit*, juiced (about 1/3 cup)
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1/4 cup water
• 1.5 tbsp honey
• pinch of salt

for a winter citrus mimosa

• 2 tbsp blood orange & honey syrup
• 6 oz dry sparkling wine (such as prosecco), chilled
• sliced blood oranges, for garnish (optional)

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

---

Instructions

for the blood orange & honey syrup

1. combine blood orange juice, grapefruit juice, lemon juice, water, honey & salt in heavy-bottomed pan.
2. bring syrup to a simmer heat over medium-high heat.
3. stir occasionally for 3-5 minutes as syrup reduces slightly.
4. strain syrup & store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

for a winter citrus mimosa

1. combine blood orange & honey syrup & prosecco in wine glass & garnish with fresh blood orange slices.
2. cheers!

---

Notes

*if you have extra fresh citrus juice

• don’t waste it! freeze in an ice cube tray & store in your freezer for up to 2 months to use for cooking or in cocktails as needed.

---

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1

so, i’m dying to know…have you ever hosted a galentine’s get-together?  what did you serve?  how are you planning to show your lady loves some appreciation in the next week??  let me know in the comments below!  i’d LOVE to chat!