Comments on: Coffee Companion, aka Homemade Coffee Mate

By: Emily

Emily — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 13:22:46 +0000

I’m making creamer for the 3rd time as I type. My husband and I are really enjoying it! The first time I did vanilla extract, the second real vanilla and today I’m trying almond extract. Thanks for the recipe! The raw milk seems to work just fine too!

By: Honey

Honey — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 18:28:07 +0000

Thank you for the suggestion, I will give it try. I also think I will join the support group to kick my addition to the Coffemate. Maybe there is something else in there that makes it so addictive. Ha Ha

By: Jen

Jen — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 16:27:12 +0000

Honey – I was always a french vanilla girl, so don’t know the nuances of the hazelnut variety :) However, if I wanted to make hazelnut infused cream I would probably do the following:
1) with a clean kitchen towel, rub the skins off of about a cup of hazelnuts (doesn’t need to be too precise)
2) chop the hazelnuts, lightly toast in a skillet until fragrant
3) add the chopped toasted nuts to warm cream and infuse for at least 15-20 minutes. I might add a scraped vanilla bean (or extract) as well, plus some sugar (1-2 T)
4) strain, pressing on the hazelnuts to extract as much liquid as possible. Give it all a good shake and pour it into your coffee!

Alternatively, you could also try adding to cream:
1) hazelnut syrup (like for lattes). It would probably taste stronger and more sugary than chopped hazelnuts. If you search out a high quality syrup (typically italian) it’s usually made with sugar rather than HFCS and has fewer strange additives
2) hazelnut extract, if you can find it

Happy experimenting!

By: Honey

Honey — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 13:01:31 +0000

I am a Hazelnut Coffeemate addict, one of my last processed food habits that I can’t seem to get rid of!! How can I make it the Hazelnut version in my kitchen?

By: Jen

Jen — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 02:31:37 +0000

Emily – do you have access to raw cream? If so, I would use that, and would heat it over low heat for maybe 5 minutes then add the vanilla beans or whatever else you want to infuse it with.

I’ve tried infusing things cold, and it just doesn’t work as well. First of all, you have to leave it for _much_ longer (like a day or two), and still I don’t think the flavor permeates as well as when heated.

That’s an interesting question as to what happens when you heat raw milk… I don’t know the answer, but I am guessing that if you don’t let it boil and just scald it (as if you were making yogurt), the good bacteria might survive… if you find out the answer, I’d love to know.

By: Emily

Emily — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 15:06:58 +0000

I know it’s not accessible to everyone but we get raw milk and I hear that even lactose intolerant can drink raw milk. My question is, do you cook it when you make other flavors too? What does heating it up do?