A fruit smoothie to ‘knock your socks off’

“It tastes like summer,” reporter and taste tester Margaret Roarty said after sampling a berry smoothie from the Times Leader test kitchen.

“Very, very, delicious,” said columnist Bill O’Boyle.

“It’s very refreshing,” reporter Kevin Carroll said, “and it’s very nice to have a cool drink like this on a warm, sunny day.”

My thoughts exactly. With temperatures in the 70s on Tuesday, it seemed like an ideal time to whip up my own version of the recipe for “Cherry Berry Smoothies” from the “Taste of Home” cookbook/collection of Contest Winning Annual Recipes I’ve been perusing.

And if you think Margaret, Bill and Kevin enjoyed the smoothies, just listen to reporter Hannah Simerson’s reaction:

“I don’t think there’s anything you could have made that I would love more,” she said, making no effort to hide her glee. “I’m a smoothie girl and this knocked my socks off.”

The recipe in the cookbook came from one Mary Plummer of Avon, Ind., who called for apple juice, frozen raspberries, frozen cherries and raspberry sherbet. A suggestion printed near the recipe said home cooks can feel free to substitute different kinds of fruit, or juice, or sherbet.

I took them up on that. Since I had no frozen cherries, I used a frozen mix of organic blackberries, raspberries, strawberries and blueberries that I found at Gerrity’s/The Fresh Grocer. Also, I used rainbow sherbet instead of raspberry.

The results pleased a lot of people, from my husband/fellow test cook Mark who pronounced it “terrific” to news editor Roger DuPuis, who declared himself to be “a fan of both taste and texture.”

However, not everyone is a fan of whole fruit shredded in a blender..

“Smoothies are a tough sell with me because I don’t like the consistency,” page designer Lyndsay Bartos said, noting she did appreciate the flavors.

Bill also liked the flavor, but poked fun at the consistency: “It’s a nice, cold drink and you can chew some of it,” he said with a laugh.

But Roger defended the summery beverage as “just right. I don’t want a smoothie to be too smooth.”

Without further ado, here is the original recipe, which I doubled.

Cherry Berry Smoothies

1 1/2 cups unsweetened apple juice

1 cup frozen unsweetened raspberries

1 cup frozen pitted dark sweet cherries

1 1/2 cups raspberry sherbet

In a blender, combine the apple juice, raspberries and cherries. Add the sherbet; cover and process until well blended. Pour into chilled glasses; serve immediately. Yield 4 servings.