For those of you who live in L.A., you have probably seen an Instagram (or two, or three) of the very photogenic patio at West Hollywood hot spot Gracias Madre. This vegan Mexican restaurant not only has the best butternut squash quesadilla you can imagine, but it also boasts some pretty picturesque cocktails, too. And the dreamy decor that makes guests feel like they’ve been transported to a beachfront cafe in Tulum. But back to those cocktails… Gracias Madre has snow cone margarita called La Quinceañera that I order almost every time I am there. It consists of delicious fruity flavors and tequila poured over a mound of shaved ice. It tastes great and is quite photogenic, so it’s one of my favorite things to order. It’s also surprisingly easy to make them at home, I recently discovered. So, I mapped out the ingredients and instructions to share with all of you! Not only is this cocktail delicious, but the idea holds a special place in my heart because my first entrepreneurial job (as a fresh-faced 14-year-old) was selling snow cones! My dad gave me a “loan” to buy a shaved ice machine and I sold snow cones on a beach in a small summer community I grew up going to. In fact, I still have the original snow cone machine… Talk about a throw back!

The snow cone margarita we’re making today is pineapple-strawberry flavored using fruit simple syrups you can make at home (much better than the store-bought stuff). So grab your glasses and your paper straws and get ready for a perfectly picturesque happy hour…

Gray’s Summertime Strawberry Pineapple Snow Cone Cocktail

Makes about 4 cocktails Ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh sliced pineapple chunks
• 1 cup fresh slivered strawberries
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 oz. tequila (1 oz. per drink)
• 2 oz. Cointreau (1/2 oz. per drink)
• Fresh lime juice (2 oz. per drink)
• 4 sprigs of mint (for garnish)
• 1 ice shaver or snow cone maker

Directions: To make the simple syrups:

1. Slice fresh strawberries into slivers. Add strawberries to medium sized saucepan and add ½ cup water. Stir on high heat until mixture is boiling and remove any foam from top of mixture with a spoon. Once you notice the strawberries beginning to lose their color, add ½ cup of granulated sugar to mixture and continue stirring for about 5 minutes. Once strawberries have completely lost their color and appear a pink/white color, scoop the strawberries out of the mixture with a slated spoon. Stir mixture for 5 more minutes (or until sugar is completely dissolved), remove from heat, pour mixture into a glass or bowl and place in refrigerator for about 30 minutes or until cooled.

2. Repeat above steps using pineapple, except do not remove pineapple chunks from mixture once the sugar has completely dissolved. Remove mixture of water, pineapple chunks and sugar from heat and pour into blender (be careful, it will be very hot). Blend or puree until fruit is completely blended, creating a liquid. Pour blended mixture into a glass or bowl and place in refrigerator for about 30 minutes or until cooled.

3. Once both mixtures have cooled completely, pour each one separately through a fine mesh strainer into a glass container or pitcher. Once liquids have been strained, discard solid berries and pineapples. Seal your two glass containers or pitchers and place back in refrigerator until it’s time to pour over snow cones!

To make the snow cones:

1. I used a snow cone maker, which is the easiest way to make these cocktails. You can find affordable snow cone makers at any home goods store. Set your snow cone maker to create enough shaved ice for four cocktails. Pack the ice into four low tumblers, filling it about 2/3 of the way full. Pour tequila of your choice and Cointreau over your ice.

1. Then, take more shaved ice and use your hands to make a rounded mound at the top of each drink. Pack down tightly as your ice will collapse a bit when you pour your syrups over the top. Tip : You can also use an ice cream scooper to make a perfect mound.

1. Remove your chilled simple syrups from the refrigerator and drizzle over the top of your rounded ice mounds.

1. Garnish with a sprig of mint, a strawberry slice or pineapple wedge and serve with a paper straw á al Gracias Madre. And enjoy!

Pretty delicious, right? Will you be making these snow cone margaritas this summer? Stay tuned for my next cocktail creation coming soon.

Xx Gray

Photos: Jessi Burrone for GrayMalin.com