Homemade Coconut Syrup Dirty Diet Cokes

A couple weeks ago I had a bunch of girlfriends over for Dirty Diet Cokes and games. If you’ve never heard of or had a Dirty Diet Coke you should probably stop what you’re doing and go get the ingredients to make one. They are delicious and they really don’t even taste like Diet Coke!
Dirty Diet Coke = Diet Coke, Coconut Syrup + Lime Juice (And a splash of half & half if you’re daring or in the mood for a creamy delight)
To make these, grab a large glass or plastic cup and fill halfway with crushed ice (crushed is much better for these, trust me!), then pour 3 tbsp (or 4!) of coconut syrup over the ice. Then fill with cold Diet Coke until you’re about an inch from the top of the glass. Then squeeze in 1/4 lime’s juice. And if you’re up for it add a splash of half & half. Then drink with a straw. The straw helps it from tasting as watery if you drink with the ice hitting your mouth. Pretty scientific huh??
When we first made these with some friends in Park City we couldn’t find coconut syrup at any stores so we decided to make it. It’s really easy! Just make a simple syrup (one part sugar to one part water – if you want to make the syrup sugar free use a sugar substitute like splenda), boil the sugar and water together until dissolved, then remove from heat and add coconut extract. Below are the measurements. I like to let the syrup cool, then transfer to a sealable pitcher or old water or juice bottle and keep in the fridge. Homemade Coconut Syrup:

• 1 c. white sugar (or sugar substitute – look for conversion chart on package)
• 1 c. water
• 3 tsp. coconut extract

Dirty Diet Cokes:

• 1 cup of crushed ice
• 1 can chilled Diet Coke
• juice of 1/4 lime
• 3 tbsp. coconut syrup
• optional: splash of half & half

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Whip up Something New

My friend Elise recently set up a blog challenge called Whip up Something New for those of us who have lists, links, books, and stacks of recipes we want to try but haven’t had the time or energy to do so.

The challenge is to create a new recipe each month and blog about it. Mine for January was Ina Garten’s Coconut Cupcakes. I’d heard so many heavenly things about this recipe over the years I was almost scared to make it… for fear that I would eat all of them in one sitting. Luckily at showers I can bring them all (or most of them) to give away and just keep a couple for sampling.

And note that in the reviews some people omitted almond extract—I think that would be a mistake. It really makes the flavor rich. I actually added extra so it would taste like marzipan.

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