Get the flavor of those little coffee creamers without the chemicals…

Sometimes you just crave a treat. I sit in Starbucks and here just about everybody ordering a flavored $5 drink as I drink a basic coffee or tea but on a snow day at home when we needed a treat we started talking about flavored coffees and those little “creamers” you find in quick stops (that aren’t even dairy foods) that were surely designed to mask the poor flavor of the quick stop coffee itself. Those little creamers do have flavor and a whole fan base of their own apparently. We decided to experiment with homemade versions and, boy, were we delighted. (“I get it,” I said. “I must try not to get addicted to all of this sweetener…”)

Just so that I can sufficiently poke the stuff in those tiny plastic containers, here are the ingredients from a common creamer:

Sugar, water, partially hydrogenated soybean and/or cottonseed oil, sodium caseinate (and I said this wasn’t a dairy product and here it is — a caseine), and less than 2% of propylene glycol, dipotassium phosphate, natural and artificial flavors, polysorbate 60, sodium stearoyl lactylate, color added, sucralose

Our ingredients: milk, cream, sugar, flavor extract

First, everyone puts a different number of those little creamers in their coffee and some of us may even add more sweetener on top of that. Experiment with these flavors and ingredient ratios to find a fun recipe for yourself. I would consider experimenting in great detail myself but went on the wagon immediately after tasting the peppermint. Wow. That was heavenly.

Homemade Coffee Creamer — Vanilla, Peppermint, and Hazelnut

• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup cream (or replace the milk and cream with Half and Half)
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract (or 1-2 teaspoons of peppermint extract or 1-2 teaspoons of hazelnut extract)
• 1/4-1/2 cup of sugar

Steps

1. Add the cream and milk to a saucepan and gently bring to a simmer. Give it a whisk.
2. Add 1/4 cup of sugar and allow it to dissolve, whisking a bit to aid it. (Go for the full 1/2 cup if you are looking for a sweeter, creamier drink. You may even want more.)
3. Add the flavor extract. Whisk.
4. Taste for balance. It is easy to get quite a bit of peppermint, a mistake I don’t get too concerned over since it wakes me up and makes me say, “Wow. That’s too much. Let me have more…”
5. Add it to your coffee. Adjust to fit your needs.

Refrigerate your creation. It will last for a week or two in your refrigerator should you not finish it immediately.