Homemade Coffee Creamer

One thing that I love is my coffee creamer (and so does the husband) and all the different flavors it comes in! However, paying almost $4 for coffee creamer (the store brand is not the same as the band names!) was making me wonder if I could make it cheaper. Plus have you ever read the list of ingredients in that stuff? It's not even made with milk! So I set off for Google to see what coffee creamer recipes I could come up with. I found two that I thought we may like and made both.

The first one I made was from Deliciously Organic. Carrie has a fabulous website full of wonderful recipes that I have tried and loved! I made the cinnamon strudel coffee creamer which consisted of the following ingredients:

• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 4 tbs maple syrup
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon 
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp of almond extract 

However, I didn't have all of the ingredients. So I improvised and came up with this recipe:

• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup half and half creamer
• 4 tbs maple syrup
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbs vanilla almond milk 

Instructions: whisk together milk, cream, syrup and cinnamon in a pan over medium heat. When the mixture began to steam, remove from heat and add in the vanilla and almond extracts. Then strain through a mesh sieve (I used 2 layers of cheese cloth) if you don't do this, the ground cinnamon will sink to the bottom of the creamer. Pour into a glass jar and store in the fridge. 

I couldn't wait to try my creamer the next morning, it smelled so good! It was delicious, but thin. If you ever noticed the store bought coffee creamer, it's a thicker consistency, this was thin and I wasn't used to it! So I tried the other recipe I found using a different base. 

This second recipe came from The Joy of Clean Eating. I have been following Sarah and Kristy's blog for about a year now and have also made some wonderful foods! Here is their recipe for their base coffee creamer: 

• 1 1/4 cups of condensed milk
• 1 cup milk 
• 1-2 tbs sweetener (optional)
• 1/2 tsp thickener (such as cornstarch, arrow root, etc) this is also optional. 

Homemade Condensed Milk

So I dug through the pantry and found a can of condensed milk, added 1 cup of milk, and 1/2 tsp of cornstarch (hoping this would help the 'thinness' I experienced in the last batch). Mixed ingredients in a pan over medium heat, let simmer, removed from heat and then added in 1 tbs of vanilla extract. Mixed together and poured into a glass jar and set in the fridge. I opted out of the sweetener, since the condensed milk seemed sweet enough. 

The next morning, I eagerly tried my new creamer and fell in love. The thickness was just right! It is a bit sweet, so next time I make it I will add more milk to help dilute the condensed milk more. Also on The Joy of Clean Eating they have a recipe for homemade condensed milk using a 1/2 cup of raisins and a cup of milk. I have yet to get this to taste right. Each time I make it, my coffee tastes like raisins, not what I'm going for! If I get it right, I'll be sure to post it!


My Choice: So after trying both, I would say add the 1/2 tsp of cornstarch to Deliciously Organic's recipe to make it a bit thicker. However, if you are looking for a quick recipe, The Joy of Clean eating is much quicker (if you just use the canned condensed milk). I am also on the lookout for a powdered version of coffee creamer. So stay tuned!