Sarah and I have been trying to avoid high fructose corn syrup, and non-dairy creamer is loaded with it. So I devised a recipe that tastes quite a bit like commercial vanilla creamers but is actually a lot better as it uses real cream and a vanilla bean.
Vanilla Creamer
(makes about a quart)
3 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
Place the milk and sugar in a medium saucepan. Cut the vanilla bean down the middle and, with a paring knife, scrape the seeds into the milk, then add the pod to the pan.
Turn the heat to medium high, and stir after a few minutes to dissolve the sugar. Heat until boiling, then reduce heat to medium and boil for a minute or two, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and cool for at least 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally so a film doesn't form.
Refrigerate at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours to allow the vanilla pod flavor to permeate the creamer. Add the cream and strain into a bottle. The vanilla seeds will go through the strainer, which is a good thing as they'll keep instensifying the flavor of the creamer over the first day or two in the fridge. You may need to shake before serving in case of separation. This stays good for weeks as it's preserved by the sugar and the re-pasteurization process of boiling the milk.
If you want to simplify this (it probably won't be quite as good, but still better than storebought) you can simply shake together the first three ingredients along with a teaspoon or two of vanilla extract. In this case, the flavor will definitely take at least a day to come through, i.e. for the vanilla flavor to permeate. You can also subsitute half and half for the mixture of milk and cream, but the creamer won't be quite as rich.
Feel free to reduce the sugar if you'd like. Even in this recipe, the sweetener content is 1/3 less than in commercial creamers, but it still tastes just as sweet (if not more so).
Bonus Recipe
This makes very good White Russians when combined with equal parts espresso (or very strong coffee) and vodka.
The Other Raw (sort of) Fish
4 hours ago
3 comments:
Big Lebowski memories. I'm not huge on creamers (although this sounds really good), but White Russians with this stuff may be in order.
It definitely works well for White Russians. Even with instant espresso, it still tasted really good.
You can also make homemade Kahlua using 2 cups water, 2 cups vodka, 1.25 cups sugar, 1.5 TB instant coffee and 1.5 TB vanilla. You boil everything together, simmer 10-20 minutes, then let cool, all the while keeping the pan covered as much as possible to avoid letting the alcohol evaporate.
yum.
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