Homemade Irish Cream

 I'm pretty sure that I amuse my husband to no end. He must wonder what he will discover when he walks in the door every afternoon. When he called home during lunch and I told him I was making Irish cream, he laughed out loud! Then he wanted why I, a person who despised the taste of alcohol, was making homemade spirits. Well, obviously, because I saw a recipe (which is hopefully forthcoming) that called for Irish cream liqueur and I did not have any in the house. Plus, St. Patrick's Day is next week and what is more Irish than Irish cream (well, maybe Guinness!).

Irish cream is super easy to make. I looked at a lot of recipes and they are all virtually the same. Most call for whiskey, but I opted for vodka because that's what I have on hand. You can make your own sweetened condensed milk, which I will do next time, but I had a can of evaporated milk I wanted to use up. So I dissolved 1/2 cup sugar in the evaporated milk and called it good. 

I'm thinking if you left out the alcohol, this would make a stellar flavored coffee creamer. Or leave the alcohol in ... that's entirely up to you!

I only used 1 cup of vodka because I don't really like the taste of alcohol in general, but you can use up to 2 cups. This recipe filled 3 of those jars in the picture (quarts?) with a tiny sip leftover.

Irish Cream

2 eggs

14 oz sweetened condensed milk (or some variation thereof)

2 cups half and half

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon instant coffee

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 Tablespoon chocolate syrup

Up to 2 cups vodka or whiskey

Whisk eggs by hand or in stand mixer with whisk attachment. Add in rest of ingredients, one at a time, whisking well to combine. Store in a sterilized glass container for up to three months refrigerated.