In the Kitchen - DELICIOUS REAL Coffee Creamers

I love coffee in the mornings.  I love coffee some evenings.  While there is some debate on the merits or dangers of coffee, I consider it a fairly natural substance and I am willing to take my chances on this one.  Grateful that I was never trained to like my coffee sweetened, I do like coffees flavored with creamers.

At least I did like creamers until I read the labels and learned of all the chemical soup they use to flavor commercial creamers and create flavored syrups.  It is to the point that I drink my coffee black in self-defense.  If I crave a little creamer, I make sure and use real milk or real cream.  None of that "artificial-in-a-packet-on-the-shelf-forever-stuff", even if it is tasty.  And as far as Starbucks and all the coffee bars go, I am pretty sure they are not watching out for me with the ingredients they put in those flavored mocha lattes and sweetened coffee drinks.  Not to mention, $5.00 for a cup of coffee?? Heck no, I can serve a whole nutritious meal for that ... my money is too important to me.

But I said all that to say all this:  I FOUND A RECIPE (several) FOR FLAVORED COFFEE CREAMERS!!  I am so excited!!  Now I can spend all winter enjoying flavored delicious coffees in my home in the mornings and not feel deprived or broke at the end of the month!

I just couldn't wait to share this with you!!  Here it is... if you experiment and create your own, let me know and I will share it as well!

Homemade Coffee Creamers

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. Also, if you prefer a sweeter creamer, than simply add extra maple syrup. Prefer it a bit more creamy? Substitute some of the milk with heavy cream.  The creamers keep for about 10 days in the refrigerator.
 

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 cocoa powder
4 tablespoons maple syrup (not Aunt Jemima, but the real kind of Pure Maple Syrup

1 teaspoon almond extract

Whisk together milk, cream, cocoa 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 cocoa powder

1 teaspoon peppermint extract

Whisk together milk, cream, maple syrup, and cocoa 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

I hope you are as excited as I am about this new discovery.  Eating healthier is a journey.  You will never be perfect but getting better at it and making better choices will improve your health!!  Let me know how your coffee creamers turn out!