Kahlua

Homemade Kahlua -
Save a couple bottles for yourself!

Eek!  It's time to start making the Christmas lists!  Actually, there's no big decision about what to make when it comes to gift-making for my friends.  My friend Judy from Maryland (hi Judy!) makes the best Kahlua ever!  Judy's secret is DOUBLE the vodka of the usual recipe!  Who wouldn't love it?!      

Last year I made a triple batch of Judy's coffee liqueur.  To make it special, I stopped at the beer and wine making store and picked up some frosted wine bottles, cool cork stoppers, plastic sleeves for the necks of the bottles that you dip into boiling water so it shrinks to look all professional and some labels that I customized on the computer.  I was so proud of how good the bottles looked, but the best part of the gifts was how delicious the dark brown booze was inside those bottles!  

Here's the recipe NOW so you can make this in time for  this luscious liquid to age and mellow before giving it as a gift.  If you don't want to go to the expense of buying fancy bottles, save old bottles (vodka, rum, whatever), clean them well, soak off the labels and put the Kahlua into those.  I saved all sorts of bottles for this year! Make this...your friends are gonna be SO happy!

 
Homemade Kahlua 

• 1-1/2 cups light brown sugar (do not use dark brown sugar)

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 1/4 cup instant coffee (or use instant espresso powder!)

• 2 cups of water

• 3 cups vodka

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine brown sugar, white sugar and water in medium sauce pan. Bring to boil stirring constantly until all the sugar is completely dissolved.  Lower heat and simmer 5 minutes.  Add coffee and dissolve completely.  Cool thoroughly.

Once the coffee mixture is complete cooled, add vodka and vanilla.

Using a funnel, pour this delicious liquid into containers bottles and let mellow for at least one week....the longer the better.

Enjoy - makes really nice Christmas presents, but save some for yourself!!!!

NOTE:  I recommend using a much larger pot and at least tripling the recipe!