NESSIPES Butter What?

Do you ever just stand in the baking aisle, staring at all the extracts and imagining the possibilities? 

I saw this one, one day, and my mind immediately went, “Blech!”  Who puts butter in coffee?”  Since I almost exclusively use extracts for my coffee creamer, that’s where my mind went. 

But then I saw this.  And the little angels in my head started singing.

Because I remembered this!

So now I can make my own Buttered Rum coffee creamer whenever I want, yay! 

Recipe here: Coffee Creamer | Nessipes!

Wouldn’t you know – today is January 17, 2015 – NATIONAL HOT BUTTERED RUM DAY

Enjoy!

Cherry Bombs

We have a new girl in the office where I live.  I wanted to welcome her, so I made cupcakes.  Hey, it’s what I do.  🙂 

Remember that cherry extract I got a few weeks ago?  Yeah, it rocks in the plain white cake mix.  I used 2 teaspoons.  Also, because it’s Autumn and I wanted to play a little – I’ve been in a mood, not sure why – I added some food coloring.  McCormick has these Fall Colors that are really nice.  I used 10 drops of the burgundy in this batch.

They looked okay going in, and the kids said the batter tasted good.  But I still kept my fingers crossed anyway. 

And they turned out okay!  Whew!

I added 2 drops of regular yellow food coloring to plain white frosting and mixed it up right in the little tub.  I was going for an ivory look.  I thought that might have more of an Autumn feel than stark white. 

And of course, I had to use the Autumn cupcake liners and sprinkles I picked up recently, too.  🙂

I let the kids have one, testing purposes you know!  They said they turned out awesome, yay! 

But wouldn’t you know, when I took the cupcakes over to the office to meet the new girl and say hello, it was her day off!  *facepalm* 

Oh well.  The other ladies said they might leave her some, lol. 

Cherry Picked

I stared at the box of cherry extract in the baking aisle.  I had no reason to get it, no plan in mind of how to use it, but I wanted it.  A couple days after I’d put the groceries away, I saw that little box of extract in my cabinet and was hit with inspiration.  Yay!

I’ve mentioned in the past how I’ve been making my own coffee creamer.  I have to say, I really love the different flavor combinations I can make. 

So I took that little box of cherry extract and put it in my homemade coffee creamer.  I made a batch that was half cherry half chocolate, and a batch that was half cherry half vanilla. 

Oh my goodness!

It’s like having a bite of chocolate covered cherry, or a scoop of cherry vanilla ice cream, as you drink your coffee. 

I was a bit dubious at first, but I’m so glad I dared.  🙂 

Image courtesy of: WATKINS CHERRY EXTRACT

Coffee Creamer

Dairy free coffee creamer, that is!

Shortly before this past Christmas, I went on a mission to try to figure out why my blood sugar seemed to want to stay above 100.  I was doing everything right – super low carb ketogenic diet, no grains, no sugar – and still my blood sugar didn’t seem to be cooperating.

The only culprit I could find was the heavy whipping cream I used in my coffee.  Lactose, anyone?  I have never been lactose intolerant, so it took a while for me to latch onto this culprit.

I tried the sugar free versions from the brand name varieties, thinking that at least they were dairy free, and sugar free.  But they weren’t carb free.

I searched online and found a recipe for a dairy free version: A Primal Non-Dairy Coffee Creamer : Breakfast Ideas Forum : Active Low-Carber Forums

I modified this recipe a bit, since the only canned coconut milk I could find was loaded with sugar.  I did, however, find an unsweetened coconut milk, so I used that one.

Initially, the only coconut oil I had on hand was the one that has the coconutty fragrance.  Nice in some foods, not so much in coffee.  Blech!  I stuck with it though and almost immediately, the facial candida rash I’ve struggled with for the past few years seemed to disappear.  Only the barest traces remain, yay!

And my blood sugar plummeted into the 80s.

Not to mention a 6lb weight loss in a week and a half.

Seriously, how awesome is that?!

I think we’ve found a winner!

Naturally, I had to start experimenting with different flavors.  Yesterday morning, the chocolate extract I ordered finally came in.  I couldn’t find it while grocery shopping, and discovered that McCormick isn’t making it anymore, so I did a search on Amazon and found some, woo!  Jr Watkins Chocolate Extract 8 Oz.

I couldn’t wait to get started, so yesterday afternoon, I whipped up a batch of chocolate-peppermint flavored creamer.  Now that I have an unscented version of coconut oil, the chocolate and peppermint together can really shine.

Oh my gosh, it’s so good!  It smells like chocolate mint ice cream, or a York Peppermint Patty!  Yum!

Next I might try chocolate almond.  Or chocolate hazelnut.

While waiting for the chocolate extract to arrive, I did make a vanilla almond variety that smelled like a bear claw.  It was like having a pastry with my morning coffee, with no guilt or bad consequences.  🙂

So many extracts, so many flavors, so many possibilities!

So here is the recipe as I modified it for myself:

• 2 cups coconut milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon extract.

[UPDATE: I’ve since gone from 1 teaspoon of extract per batch, to 2 teaspoons of extract per batch (or 1 tsp per cup of coconut milk).  It really boosts the flavors and they come through much better.  Plus, using 2 of everything makes the recipe easier to remember, lol.]

Now, I often split that teaspoon into 2 half teaspoons, for instance, half teaspoon peppermint, half teaspoon chocolate.  I break it down as a half teaspoon per cup of coconut milk.  You may want to use a full teaspoon of a single flavor if you don’t want to blend flavors.

Also, you may want to use a full teaspoon of extract per cup of coconut milk, depending on your taste preferences.  For me, that measurement was a little strong, so I cut it back a bit.

I melt the coconut oil for a few seconds prior to blending it with the other ingredients, otherwise it hardens up as soon at it hits the cold stuff and you get clumps of coconut oil in your creamer.  Yes, it melts once you put it in your hot coffee.  Still, melting it first is better I think.  🙂

I just blend mine in a clean peanut butter jar with my little Gizmo … because I have an almost obsessive compulsion to collect the peanut butter jars as my kids go through them, since you never know when a peanut butter jar will come in handy.  Hey, at least I’ve managed to break my mayonnaise jar addiction!  LOL

Once blended, I can just pop it in the fridge and it’s ready to use.  Honestly, I don’t know how long it keeps because I go through it pretty quickly, but I wouldn’t give it longer than a week, with the eggs in there.

This version is unsweetened, since I add my own sweeteners to my coffee, but if you want a pre-sweetened variety of homemade coffee creamer, I also found this recipe: Homemade Dairy Free, Paleo, Sugar Free Coffee Creamer Recipe.  I am not adventurous enough to try to make my own date paste, but if you are, please let me know how it turns out!