Homemade Kahlua

We've been having my husband's cousin and girlfriend over a lot lately and every time there's been a common theme - playing cards and drinking Kahlua and milk. I mean really, what's not to love about a good Kahlua and milk? It's sweet and goes down smooth and if you're feeling a bit on the daring side a splash of vodka will give you a Black Russian. After a half a dozen times hanging out we realized our Kahlua supply went from running dangerously low to non-existent. Usually we purchase Kahlua on vacation in the Caribbean but since a vacation isn't yet in sight we knew we had to take action.

My husband was browsing through a cook book when he came across a recipe for homemade Kahlua. Intrigued he decided we absolutely had to make it, so I as per my usual when finding a new recipe I decided to do some research and see what other versions of the recipe were out there. Some called for letting it sit for 30 days (those got crossed off the list fast!), some used granulated sugar, others brown sugar. Some were made with instant coffee and some freshly brewed coffee. After a lot of research we ultimately decided to base our recipe on the version I found on the Cupcake Project. We altered the measurements slightly to our preferences but other than that, this recipe is perfection! You can have fun with this recipe and make it using hazelnut, french vanilla or any of flavor of coffee you can think of. I think it makes for a great gift during the holidays as well, in fact a few people on our list just may get a bottle this year.

Finally before I give you the recipe, here's your bonus tip for the day; there's no need to buy expensive vodka to make this drink or any drink for that matter. If you have cheap vodka all you need to do is run it through a water filter a few times (like a Brita) and voila! You have just transformed cheap vodka into quality vodka!

Does it get any better than this?


Homemade Kahlua
Yield:
Prep Time: 10 minutes     I     Inactive Prep Time: 2.5 hours

Ingredients

• 8 cups freshly brewed coffee
• 2 cups vodka
• 1 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Start off by brewing the coffee. Once you have done this, pour into a large glass bowl or container and stir in the sugar ensuring that it dissolves fully. Set the coffee aside and allow to get to room temperature (about 30 minutes).

Once the coffee has cooled stir in the vodka and vanilla and let sit so the flavors have a chance to really come together. We let it sit for two hours and it was perfect.

That's all folks! Enjoy!