Homemade Coffee Creamer

My friends tell me the one thing they can't give up is their flavored coffee creamer. I can understand. Creamy, sweet, smooth, with all sorts of different flavors to choose from. The problem is the ingredients. Have you ever read what's in those bottles? They are full of artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, refined sugars, high fructose corn syrup, and hydrogenated oils. As far as I can tell, most of them don't even contain milk!

So if you're hooked on store-bought creamer then today's your day. I've developed several recipes so you can make your own creamer at home. Each recipe takes about 5-10 minutes to whip up. You can double or even triple them if you'd like to have enough creamer to last a little while.

Next time you have friends over for a gathering, make a few batches of homemade creamer, put them in cute bottles and have a coffee bar. You can include whipped cream, chocolate shavings, cinnamon sticks, etc. They are also fabulous poured over hot oatmeal at breakfast.

A great alternative to regular coffee is herbal coffee. Teeccino is an herbal coffee that tastes just like the real thing. I even put the herbal mixture in my espresso pot and brew herbal espresso. No caffeine or acidity and even the kids can have a cup!



Homemade Coffee Creamer
I prefer to strain each of the creamers through a fine mesh sieve to prevent any spices floating in my coffee. If this doesn't matter to you, then simply skip this step.
Each recipe makes 2 cups

Cinnamon Strudel Creamer

1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons maple syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract

Whisk together milk, cream, maple syrup and cinnamon in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When the mixture begins to steam, remove from the heat. Stir in extracts. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, pour into a glass bottle and store in the refrigerator.

Chocolate Almond

1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons cacao powder
4 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon almond extract

Whisk together milk, cream, cacao powder, and maple syrup in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When mixture begins to steam, remove from the heat and stir in almond extract. Pour in a glass container and store in the refrigerator.

Pumpkin Spice

1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons pureed pumpkin
1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
4 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk together milk, cream, pumpkin, pumpkin spice, and maple syrup in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When mixture begins to steam, remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, pour into a glass bottle and store in the refrigerator.

French Vanilla

1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons maple syrup
1 vanilla bean

Whisk together milk, cream and maple syrup in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cut vanilla bean in half, and scrape out seeds. Add seeds and vanilla bean to milk mixture. Turn off heat, cover the pot and steep for 30 minutes. After mixture has steeped, strain through a fine mesh sieve, pour into a glass bottle and store in the refrigerator. (If you don't have a vanilla bean on hand, simply replace it with 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract)

Peppermint Mocha

1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons maple syrup
3 tablespoons cacao
1 teaspoon peppermint extract

Whisk together milk, cream, maple syrup, and cacao in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When mixture begins to steam, remove from the heat and stir in the peppermint extract. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, pour into a glass bottle and store in the refrigerator.

This post is linked to Simple Lives Tuesday