Homemade Irish cream is a tasty treat for the holidays or anytime!

I've been loving sipping on this lately as I've played around with the recipe to get it just right. I prefer it on the rocks, but others love it in their coffee. It's a nice after dinner drink with company, or you could enjoy it on movie night while the kids are drinking hot cocoa! Once I got the recipe down, I even shared some as gifts:

You can leave out the alcohol for a kid-friendly version of this homemade Irish cream if you'd like!

See more pictures below!

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Homemade Irish Cream--Superfood Version (with or without alcohol)

Servings: 6.5 Cups

Author: KitchenKop

Ingredients

2 cups vodka, optional, I use Kirkland vodka from Costco because it's a good price yet still good quality!
4 egg yolks, or use 5 if they're small, see below for how to use your extra egg whites. We get our eggs at a local farm where we know the hens are raised well and fed well.
2 cups heavy cream, we get ours raw from our farmer and it's SO good. Never use ultra-pasteurized dairy--read more here about healthy dairy options.
1 Tablespoon homemade chocolate syrup, or you can use this organic chocolate syrup if you can find it.
1/4-1/2 teaspoon almond extract, use more or less depending on your own taste preference.
1-2 Tablespoons of these optional superfood add-ins: collagen from grassfed cows, and/or colostrum
1 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee/espresso granules, I found this at the store, just make sure the *only* ingredient is coffee.
2 cups sweetened condensed milk, see below for the easy homemade recipe, or you can use 2 cans of this organic sweetened condensed milk.

Instructions

Pour the vodka into a 1/2 gallon jar.
In a blender add egg yolks, cream, chocolate syrup, almond extract and optional superfood ingredients; blend well. If you're not making homemade sweetened condensed milk, blend in the coffee granules now too. (I like to add them to the warm milk because they dissolve faster.)
Add this mixture to the jar with the vodka.
Add sweetened condensed milk to the jar. If you're making it homemade, whisk in the coffee while it's still warm. Once it's mostly cool, add it to the jar.
Put the lid on and shake well.
Store in the fridge. It would probably last a while with the alcohol acting as a preservative, but ours always disappears fast.
Delicious over ice or in coffee.

Notes

I love playing around with recipes, tweaking here and there, slipping in more superfoods if possible, and seeing how they turn out. This recipe was originally from my friend Katie!

Ways to use your extra egg whites: try these no-coconut macaroons!

Learn more about choosing the best foods and about reading ingredient labels in my book, Real Food for Rookies!

Here's how to make homemade sweetened condensed milk–and of course I had to slip in some extra superfoods there too!

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Sweetened Condensed Milk--who knew?!

Did you even know you could make your own sweetened condensed milk? I guess I never thought about it, but had no idea it was this easy! (See the recipe notes for another way to make it that I'm going to try next time & then I'll report back...)

Servings: 2 cups

Ingredients

3 cups whole milk, we use raw milk from the farm. Never ever use ultra-pasteurized milk or low-fat milk--read more here about healthy dairy options.
1 1/2 cups sugar, I used organic cane sugar, next I'm going to try it with organic palm/coconut sugar.
6 Tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 scoop grassfed collagen, optional, there's no taste and it adds nutrients for hair & nails, extra protein, and boosts gut health.
1 heaping Tablespoon grassfed colostrum, also optional, but it adds even more of a delicious flavor and has SO MANY health benefits, especially for your gut.

Instructions

Add milk and sugar to a medium saucepan and bring to a low/medium boil for about 45-50 minutes. You want it to condense down to 2 cups. You'll be able to tell as you dip a spoon in that it's getting thicker. Keep a close eye so it doesn’t burn or boil over, stirring occasionally. (If you taste-test it’ll start to taste almost like caramel, because it IS almost caramel--if you kept cooking it, eventually it would become dulce de leche, which is caramelized milk & sugar!)
I keep a 4 cup measuring glass handy and when it's getting close, I'll just pour it in there to see if it's at 2 cups yet. If it's not, I put it back into the pan to keep going.
When it's condensed, remove from heat. Whisk in butter, vanilla, and optional collagen.
When still warm but no longer hot, add the optional colostrum, whisk vigorously to make sure it’s dissolved well. (Cool to about 115* or so if you're using a thermometer, if it's still a bit warm the colostrum will dissolve easiest that way. Even though it still has health benefits at a higher heat, it's best to keep it raw when possible to preserve the most nutrients.)

Notes

Note, here's my friend Maureen's sweetened condensed milk recipe that I'm going to try next time and report back:

Start with 2 cups of heavy cream and add 1/2 cup of maple syrup. Reduce by half (boil down, being careful not to let it burn), and add 1 teaspoon of good quality vanilla extract. That’s it!

Update: I tried it once and it didn't go well because I took my eye off it and it started to boil over, then I had to strain all the milk solids out, bummer! It still tasted fine though and I do love that this one uses maple syrup for a good unrefined sweetener. I'll try to do better next time and let you know, lol.