A fun thing that my friends and I love to do when we get together is each bring a part of the dinner.  Not only does that make the clean up easier when entertaining in a small apartment, but it also helps spread the costs out a bit and gives us a fun way to try new recipes and each other’s cooking.

When my girlfriends came over last week, we went with a Mexican theme and Nicole brought taquitos and guacamole as an appetizer, Adrienne made some seriously delish crock pot chicken tacos, and I was in charge of drinks and dessert.  Check out my recipe below for spicy homemade jalapeño margaritas – these were a total hit!

jalapeño margaritas

Ingredients: Serves 3-5 people

• 1 750ml bottle tequila (I used Cazadores blanco)
• 3 jalapeños 
• 1 375ml bottle Cointreau
• 2 cups fresh-squeezed lime juice
• 1 cup simple syrup (Bring 1 cup water to a boil with 1 cup sugar.  Then let cool.)
• Salt and sugar to rim glasses, optional
• Ice
• Lime & jalapeño slices for garnish, optional

Instructions 

1. Infuse the tequila with jalapeños. Slice two jalapeños, remove and toss the seeds, then add to the tequila and let sit at room temp for a few hours or up to a day.
   (If you don’t like it super spicy and just want a hint of jalapeño, use just one instead of two jalapeños.)
2. Mix together the Cointreau, lime juice and simple syrup as the margarita mix.
3. On a plate, mix together the salt and sugar at a ratio of 50/50, or to taste.
4. Run a sliced lime along the rim of each glass and press into the salt/sugar mixture.
5. Add ice to glass and add a shot (about 1.5 ounces) of the jalapeno tequila.  Fill remainder of glass with margarita mix.
6. Float two slices of jalapeño in the margarita and add a small slice of lime to the side of the glass to garnish.

Let us know how you enjoyed this cocktail in the comments below.