Name: Holiday Spice Coconut Milk Creamer
Ingredients: 1/2 cup coconut cream; 1 + 1/2 cups light coconut milk (canned) or regular coconut milk (carton); 1/3 cup light agave nectar; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 3/4 tsp Pumpkin Pie spice OR; 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, and a pinch of ground clove

Nancy

November 10, 2020

easy

Fall Holiday Winter

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Make homemade coconut milk creamer with your favorite holiday spice and enjoy it all season.

Making your own homemade coconut milk coffee creamer is much easier than you might have imagined—and you most likely have all of the ingredients right in your pantry. Typical coffee creamers, especially flavored ones, contain thickeners like carrageenan, as well as artificial flavors and additives to keep the ingredients from separating and settling.

However, making this coffee companion at home using only a few staple ingredients leaves all of these unwanted additives behind. Using this dairy-free recipe, you can swap, add, or omit any of the ingredients to fit your palate. I’ve been adding coconut milk creamer to my coffee for years and was always disappointed in the grocery store’s lack of offerings. While I consistently used one particular brand, I still hated the thickeners and artificially-sweetened taste.

How do you take your coffee?

How you take your coffee is a personal preference, and I do not like to change up my coffee ritual. Do you like it with a splash of unsweetened cream? A dash of cinnamon or spice? How about sweeteners—do you take it with honey, agave, or maybe a spoonful of brown sugar? Perhaps you like to make it “Bulletproof” with some coconut oil? No matter your preference, you’ll quickly learn how to adjust this recipe to your liking!

The sweet spot

This recipe uses light agave nectar as its sweetener, but you can reduce or increase its measurement depending on your preferred taste. If you typically use pure milk or cream in your coffee, reduce the sweetener to about 1-2 tablespoons. You can omit the sweetener altogether and swap the spices for ½ teaspoon of cinnamon. We’re going for “spiced,” not “spicy!” Without the sweetener, too much spice will leave this creamer tasting harsh.

If you don’t have agave nectar, try swapping it for:

1/3 cup honey
2/3 cup sugar in the raw
2/3 cup light brown sugar

Making the condensed milk

Condensed coconut milk is a breeze to make. It only takes coconut milk or cream and some sweeter on the stove for about 20 minutes. Coconut milk won’t scald the way dairy milk will, which allows you to avoid the “film” created when milk reaches 180 degrees.

Coconut cream is composed of coconut water, coconut milk, and coconut “meat.” At room temperature, the fat will become stable and separate from the water. However, if you heat the coconut cream, the components will become homogenized, even after refrigerating.

Heating coconut cream and sugar will create a consistency similar to canned sweetened condensed milk, but you’ll get to control the sugar content. Brown sugar will give the condensed milk a more profound, complex sweetness along with a richer color. Using honey, sugar, or agave will keep the color light along with a brighter sweetness profile.

Once the cream and sweetener begin to bubble, simmer on low and whisk for about 15 minutes. You can remove the pot from heat (or turn off the heat if you’re using a gas range) and add the coconut milk. The heat from the condensed cream will allow the milk to blend nicely.

Canned vs. Carton

There are many coconut milk variations: canned coconut cream, canned coconut milk, canned light coconut milk, carton coconut milk, carton light coconut milk, and so forth. Because coconut cream is used as a thickener, I like to use either light canned coconut milk or full-fat carton coconut milk. You can also use the following ratios for this recipe:

1/2 cup canned coconut milk (for condensing) and stir in another 1 ½ cups canned coconut milk
1/4 cup coconut cream (for condensing) and 1 3/4 cup canned coconut milk
1/2 cup canned coconut milk (for condensing) and 1 cup light coconut milk or carton coconut milk

Spice it up

The fun part about making this creamer is catering it to your liking with spices. This recipe originated as a “fall spice” creamer, but you can adjust this seasonally or by preference. Ways to swap out the pumpkin pie spice include:

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and a pinch of ground clove
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
Simmer cinnamon sticks and star anise in the creamer over low heat before straining out
Swap vanilla extract for vanilla beans (simmer vanilla bean in creamer or remove using a knife and add directly to your pot)

Swap it for dairy

Not interested in coconut milk? No problem! This recipe is easily converted into a dairy creamer by swapping out two ingredients and omitting the sweetener:

1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 3/4 cup evaporated milk or half-and-half
Bring condensed milk to a light simmer (on low) and stir in the spices
Remove from heat and add the milk
Lightly whisk until combined and let cool, storing in an air-tight container

Make it frothy

There’s one coffee ritual that’s stayed the same for the last five years, and that’s making my coffee “Bulletproof.” If you haven’t heard of Bulletproof coffee, also known as butter coffee, it’s the act of pulsating or blending one cup of a coffee with either ghee, MCT oil, or coconut oil, along with your choice of creamer. Butter coffee has been consumed Internationally for centuries, but it gained some attention from keto diet followers over the past decade.

Not only does Bulletproof coffee leave me without the caffeine spike and crash, but it also lacks the high-acidity stomach ache that can come with drinking coffee on its own. (Hey, I’m not a medical professional or doctor—you can read more about Bulletproof coffee from someone who knows more than I do!) And, while Bulletproof or butter coffee typically calls for anywhere from one to two tablespoons of ghee and MCT oil, I swap this for ½ teaspoon of unrefined organic coconut oil.

Storing and Serving

As long as you’re a regular coffee drinker, keeping your creamer fresh shouldn’t be a problem. If you’re following the recipe measurements, one batch of creamer should store efficiently in a 16-ounce mason jar and keep for two weeks. If you’re omitting the sweetener, it will keep for up to 10 days.

Because this creamer is homemade and natural, it’s normal to see some settling of the spices. Prior to use, simply give the mason jar a nice swirl or gentle shake.

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