Make Unbeatable Coffee Creamer At Home With Just 3 Ingredients
Monday mornings can be tough, and one way to help you get through the day and give yourself a kick of energy is by sipping on a trusty cup of Joe. Now, while drinking your coffee black is always an option, an easy way to add flavor and balance out the bitterness of the brew is to use some coffee creamer.
There are plenty of creamer flavors out there, ranging from well-known flavors like French vanilla to seasonal options such as pumpkin spice. And, while you can pick these things up at the store, you can also make a yummy homemade coffee creamer with just three ingredients — 4 cups of your chosen milk, ½ cup of your preferred sweetener, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. You can even make the creamer in bulk, so it's ready to go for multiple cups of coffee. The result is just as rich and flavorful as store-bought creamer but without any of the added preservatives or chemicals.
Read more: The 15 Best Milk Brands, Ranked
Putting Your Homemade Coffee Creamer Together
To make the creamer, the trick is to place the sweetener and half of the milk into a saucepan. You'll want to let the sweetener dissolve into the liquid and then bring the whole thing to a simmer. As it warms, some of the liquid should start to cook off. There's no need to stir it, but you may need to remove any film or foam that forms on the top. If you don't, this can wind up in your creamer and lead to an icky texture.
The cook time for making your coffee creamer should take around half an hour. If you're not sure if it's ready, you can watch to see when it's lost about ¼ of its volume. Then, you're ready to remove it from the heat. Once you take it off the heat, you won't want to immediately add your other ingredients. Instead, let it cool until it's just warm before stirring in the other half of the milk and your vanilla. Then, chill it in the fridge and get ready to add it to your daily cup of coffee.
You can keep the creamer up until the sell-by date on the milk you used. While it may last past this date, it's best to check and make sure the texture and smell don't seem off before pouring it into your coffee.
Variations On Homemade Coffee Creamer
This homemade coffee creamer is highly versatile, with tons of different ways to play around with the taste and texture. For starters, you can mix up the milk you use, swapping regular dairy versions for plant-based milk. Or, for a richer, creamier texture, you could use half and half.
Besides the milk, you can also try different sweeteners. Regular sugar can be an easy way to sweeten up your creamer, but you could also use brown sugar to add molasses notes to it. Or, try going with maple syrup or honey. Agave, stevia, and other options can also be good picks, depending on what flavor profile you want.
Finally, you can have some fun experimenting with flavors besides vanilla. For instance, you could cook the creamer with cinnamon sticks to infuse it with the taste of warming spices. Or, you could use extracts like almond or hazelnut instead of vanilla. Feel free to get creative and play around with different tastes so that you have plenty of unique ways to upgrade your morning cup of coffee.
Read the original article on Daily Meal.
