Blood Orange Frozen Yogurt

I was talking to Guestblogger Eric M the other day and he mentioned he was going to the mall. Now, whenever I hear the word "mall", my Pavlovian response is to yearn for an Orange Julius because that is what I get whenever I find myself mallbound. For those of you who aren't in the know, an Orange Julius is basically a dreamsicle that has been put into a blender--creamy, orangey vanilla goodness.

I set off, determined to make a Julius-like confection for myself and grabbed some thick, plain Greek yogurt and a handful of beautiful blood oranges. After mixing the yogurt with the juice, I was excited to use some of my special Fiori Di Sicilia extract which is a ingredient commonly used in pannetone. This citrus-vanilla extract is sold at King Arthur Flour and I've used it in pancakes and orange sable cookies I make each year around Christmas.

I can't say that this frozen yogurt turned out better than an Orange Julius, but with its rosy shade from the blood orange juice and the clean yogurt flavors, it got the job done.

For about 1 quart:

• 21 ounces plain Greek yogurt (I used Fage 2%)
• 3/4 cup strained blood orange juice (about 3 small oranges)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Fiori Di Sicilia Extract
• 1 tablespoon triple sec

In a bowl, stir together the yogurt, juice, sugar and extract until the sugar is dissolved. Refrigerate until the mixture is cold, about 30 minutes. Pour into an ice cream maker and churn until it is thick and almost frozen, pouring in the tablespoon of triple sec at the end. Serve immediately or transfer to a quart-sized contaner and freeze. Let the container thaw for 30 minutes before serving.