My cup (or two) of coffee is my favorite thing about waking up in the morning. I actually kind of look forward to it each night when I’m going to bed. Especially if I can get up and drink it in peace and quiet, before my little ones wake up, looking forward to what the day will bring.
I like my coffee with a good amount of creamer, specifically vanilla flavored creamer. Awhile ago though, I decided that I really needed to ditch my addiction to store-bought French Vanilla coffee creamer. If you’ve read the ingredients on the package, you know that it: 1. Does not actually have cream in it and 2. has a long list of unpronounceable, chemical sounding words in it. Not something that I really should have been drinking every morning. In trying to move away from processed and industrial foods, I knew that was a habit I was going to have to kick. But, I wasn’t about to completely give up my morning coffee.
So, I set out to make my own replacement creamer. I found some recipes online that used non-dairy coffee creamer, or French Vanilla flavoring and powdered sugar, but I wasn’t really interested in using those ingredients either. Finally, I stumbled upon this recipe for vanilla caramel coffee creamer, and I thought I had finally found my answer. After a little bit of trail and error I worked out a recipe that I really enjoy. It’s not exactly the same as french vanilla creamer, but my taste buds have adjusted and I actually like this much better now.
Homemade Vanilla Coffee Creamer
- ¼ cup brown sugar (I’ve been using turbinado sugar from Trader Joe’s lately with great results!)
- 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract (use real vanilla, not the imitation – have you read the ingredients on that?!)
- approx. 2 cups of half and half
Combine brown sugar and vanilla in a small sauce pan over medium-low heat. Heat gently, stirring occasionally until sugar is melted. Don’t let get to hot or bubbly or it will solidify and you won’t be able to mix in your creamer.
Turn burner off and slowly wisk in half and half, letting the residual heat help the sugar mixture and the creamer to combine. Use immediately, or store in a glass container in your fridge.
Update 1/11 – I’ve been making a double batch of this lately using a quart of half and half because that way I don’t have to make it as often. I was almost out of turbinado sugar, so I decided to try some honey in place of it. So, I used 1/4 c. turbinado sugar, 1/4 honey, 2 Tbsp. vanilla and a quart (approx. 4 cups) half and half, and it was great! I like that I’m reducing some of the sugar while also using a more natural sweetener.
You can adjust the amount of brown sugar and vanilla to your tastes and preferences. I know it’s a lot of vanilla, but I recently found a more affordable source for pure vanilla, and also started making my own, and when you have homemade vanilla it is much cheaper.
When I first started making this I followed the recipe that I found and used 2 tsp of vanilla, but found that just wasn’t enough for me. Amazingly, my sister started making creamer the exact same way right around the same time that I did, and we didn’t even know the other was making it this way. Sometimes, it’s scary the way that sisters think alike! Anyway, she makes it with ½ cup of brown sugar and 1 Tbsp of vanilla. I decided to increase the amount of vanilla and it turned out to be perfect for me. So do a little experimenting and figure out how you like it best.
Enjoy your morning cup of coffee guilt free! (Well except for the sugar of course!)
What do you most look forward to about waking up in the morning?
More Great Recipes:
Healthy (And Good!) Banana Muffins
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Awesome! Thanks for sharing.
This looks delicious! The Mr loves creamer in his coffee – I will have to try this and see if he likes it. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing! Just about a week ago my husband asked what was in my coffee creamer…when I looked I was horrified. In the top 4 ingredients, only water was a good thing for me, not to mention the lengthy list of unpronounceable words after the top 4. I have gone a week without creamer, but now I will try this recipe.
Thanks. My husband loved the French Vanilla creamer, but we gave it up for the same reason. We will have to give this a try.
I’m not a coffee drinker, but this is a super idea! I linked on my weekly roundup, post is under my name. Thanks for sharing!
This looks great! I just stumbled upon your blog tonight, and I think this is just what I need to try. I love French Vanilla creamer (actually, I think I like the creamer better than the coffee itself), but the ingredients are terrible. I’m going to try this soon!
Thanks Amy! I’m a lot like you – I almost like the creamer more than the coffee too! In fact, I won’t drink coffee at all unless I have vanilla creamer – it’s definitely all about the creamer!
I hope you like it! Please let me know how it turns out for you!
I am wondering if xylitol will work with this?
Sorry DeLyndia, I don’t know, I’ve never used xylitol. I would just give it a try and see how it goes – that’s what I always do when I’m unsure if something will work or not! Let me know if you try it, how it works!
~Emily
I just tried it using the splenda brown sugar and it tastes just lovely!!!
Great Crystal! Thanks for sharing!
Sounds like a great recipe. I think I’ll cut down on the cholesterol in the half n half by using the fat free kind.
Sally Smith recently posted..New Remade Outfit
Read about the ingredients in Fat Free Half and Half
I made the creamer and loved it being diabetic I used agave nectar for the sweetener and half and half with mexican vanilla it rocks but one time the half and half curteled that was because i got the sweetener and vanilla to hot and added the
cold half and half and this time it was separating as it cooled any thoughts
Hi Robbi,
I’m so glad you liked it! I’ve never used agave, so I don’t know if that would make a difference with it separating. I do make sure to add a little of the half and half at the beginning to kind of cool down the mixture and then pour the rest of the half and half in slowly? Don’t know if that will help? Also, I do notice that if I cook the half and half too long or too hot it messes up the consistency, so just leave the half and half on long enough to make sure it’s all mixed together and the sweetener and vanilla mixture is dissolved into the creamer and then take it off the heat. Hope that helps!
Where did you get the cool cable knit coffee cup? Love it!
Thanks! I love it too!
It was actually a gift from my mother-in-law a few Christmases ago, I’m pretty sure she got it from Starbucks, but not sure if they would still carry them or not.
I have to know where you got that wonderfully adorable mug???? Thanks!!
Oops! Nevermind — saw that you already said! Seriously — love it!
Just a note to say how much of a blessing your site has been, as I sit here drinking my first batch of coffee creamer. It didn’t curdle until I poured it in my coffee, but it tastes wonderful! Not bad for my first attempt, as I consider myself to be ‘kitchen-impaired’ LOL!
So glad you liked it Julie!
Love your idea for the creamer! Very unusual in that it doesn’t use sweetened condensed milk (I tried using that for my homemade creamer; total failure!). I’ll try your recipe this weekend, but I have two questions: can it be frozen and, when thawed, does it recombine easily? Thanks for posting your recipe.
Hi Marie,
I have never tried to freeze it, so I can’t tell you whether it recombines easily or not. You could always freeze a small portion of the creamer first to try it out, so that if it doesn’t work, you haven’t wasted too much. I hope you enjoyed it!
~Emily
This is by far my most favorite Creamer recipe. Thanks so much for sharing! Whenever I share this with company, they are amazed! They can’t believe I make my own creamer. It’s awesome when we make our own recipes. It’s usually much cheaper, quicker, healthier and not toxic to our bodies! Amazing how that works!
Thanks again.
This is my favorite creamer recipe and so easy! No nasty chemical stuff in those other creamers you buy at the store. Cheaper, better and tastier. What more can we want?? Thanks so much!!
How long does it last in the fridge?