DIY Homemade Kahlua ~ 3 Versions

Spirits of the alcoholic sort aren't usually my thing... however a 2008 Christmas gift of a homemade bottle of Kahlua became a treasure I savored for years.  Rich, sweet and bursting with mocha flavors, this coffee liquor is a fabulous treat over crushed ice, or for me, it's become a holiday baking ingredient I can't live without. 

I'll admit I had never tasted the liquor before my girlfriend gave me a bottle, but polishing off the bottle in a matter of months I begged for another the following Christmas.  Now out of Kahlua again, it's time I learned to make this necessity myself.  And who knew it was so easy?  With only 5 ingredients (including water), Kahlua mixes together in less than 20 minutes and then needs a just a few weeks to infuse with heavenly vanilla to bring it to its full potential.

A simple internet search brings a plethora of recipes, each bringing its own variance to the table, or shall we say, to the bottle.  White vs. brown sugar, rum vs. vodka, and brewed vs. instant coffee, each variation allows one to bring one's own touch to the concoction, be it traditional or not.

For our first experiment, we decided to keep to the basics - coffee, vodka, granulated sugar and vanilla beans.  My quandary though, became brewed or instant coffee?  Unable to decide, I made batches of both.

Advice from a facebook post on DIY Kahlua brought agreement on one thing in particular... good coffee.   Most responders recommended using the best coffee available, and let me just note here that knowledge of making a good, strong cup of brewed coffee is a plus (and perhaps not my forte...).

As for the alcohol, the general consensus had me using a nice medium grade vodka, not too cheap, but definitely not the top shelf stuff.  And vanilla beans?  I like to use the best, and for me, my one stop shop is Beanilla.  Having used their beans and bottles for our general baking as well as DIY gifts for the last few years, I wouldn't think of using anything else.

Being somewhat of a traditionalist, my first batch included freshly brewed coffee.  Might I just mention here that my husband is the coffee maker in the house, and my "strong" freshly brewed coffee left much to be desired.  Hence, I found my first batch of Kahlua to be somewhat weak - if you are a good coffee maker though, you may have better luck.

My second batch however, following the Beanilla recipe with instant coffee (we used  Medaglia D'Oro Instant Espresso Coffee), proved to be more traditional and brought a rich, dark coffee liquor immediately begging to be tasted.

Our conclusion to the DIY Kahlua experiment recommends using very strong coffee if you use freshly brewed, or better yet, stick with the majority of the recipes out there and use a premium instant brand for an even stronger result.

Agreeing with our facebook poll we suggest:

~  Good coffee ~

~  Decent Vodka ~

~  Excellent Vanilla ~

~  Cute bottles ~

Pot 'O Gold Lemon Limoncello Gelatin Shots (Cubes)

I've never been much of a shot girl, well, unless you count the occasional shot of tequila to ward off an aching head after an extreme day of dance (some of Liv's competition days have been known to reach into the 15+ hour figures...).  Years ago though, our social group welcomed my good friend Annie into its folds, and our gatherings were forever changed.

Arriving with a platter of multi colored cups filled with vodka-laced jello shots, the party always started when Annie arrived.  Unfortunately for us, Annie and her family have since moved to Colorado, where I'm sure the lives of her new friends have also change forever for the better while ours will always have a little piece missing.

With Annie's absence, I gave my own try at the jello shot realizing that these little bites of fun are seriously simple to put together, make a pretty splash of color on a plate, and are usually well received.

Research for our St. Patrick's Day event led to jelly shot recipes featuring ingredients including Sour Apple Schnapps and Lime Green Jell-O flavored with Irish Whiskey.  Another shot entitled the "Car Bomb", added Guinness Stout, Irish Whiskey AND Bailey's Irish Cream to packages of unflavored gelatine along with a touch of sugar for balance.  Perhaps it's the lack of Irish blood running through my veins, but I don't really see myself as a Car Bomb girl.

Hence, I moved my own direction, away from green and whiskey, and towards this light, lemony version of our prior success, the Margarita Lime Shot.  Using my husband's homemade Limoncello, we added fresh lemon juice from dad's lemon tree, a dose of sugar, a little water and two packets of our new friend, Knox Original Unflavored Gelatin.

With my plate of bright yellow cubes headed out the door, I mentioned that I didn't feel very St. Patrick's flavored when Liv once again came to my rescue.  It must have been the Irish blood her father passed down to her, but she smiled and said, "Mom, these must be Pot of Gold Cubes left by the leprechauns!"

Thanks Liv...

Lemon Drop Jell-O Shots for National Vodka Day

October 4th, National Vodka Day

Suburban living has its benefits.  For example, we have friends to pick up our mail when we are out of town, help picking up the kids from school when we are running late, and someone to fill our measuring cups when we are missing an ingredient.

Such was the case with the creation of our Lemon Drop Jell-O Shots.  In preparation for a neighborhood gathering, and with a phenomenal idea from Naomi at Baker's Royale, I had my lemons assembled and scrubbed, halved and scooped out and lined up on mini muffin tins awaiting their vodka laced Jell-O filling as I reached up into the liquor cabinet for the vodka.  Much to my surprise, the vodka cabinet was bare.

Doing my best to avoid a late night trip to the store I peered out my windows to see if lights were on at any of the neighbors.  One was out of town, another doesn't drink, another out to dinner, but the one directly across the street was lit up in celebrating of Maggie's 9th birthday (10 Gryffinder garbed "Hermiones" were in attendance).  With laughter carrying across the street I stood hesitantly in my front yard while clutching my big measuring cup and decided to head over.

The dad opened the door, saw my measuring cup and asked if I needed sugar.  The all out belly laugh that occurred after I stated, "No... I need a cup and a half of vodka," had me smiling while he asked if my day really had been that bad?

Vodka in hand, I scurried back home, prepared my Jell-O concoction (we used a ratio of 2/3 vodka to 1/3 water) and set the filled lemon shells into the fridge to set overnight.

A sharp knife and a pretty plate was all that was remaining for our party offering the next day which indeed garnered plenty of "Oooh's and aaah's" as it was placed on the drink table.

Adjustable to suit your tastes, the hardest part of the recipe is scooping out the lemon shells.  My first attempt to turn the shells inside out, as I had seen recommended, didn't work and found me with a torn half lemon shell left in my hands.  My solution was to use a paring knife to cut away as much of the lemon from the rind as I could and simply using either the edge of the knife or my fingernail to peel away the remaining pith, almost like peeling the lemon from the inside out.

Visually appealing as well as fun, I enjoyed the numerous questions about how I had shaped the wedges, with most people not realizing that I had cut the wedges from a half lemon that had chilled overnight.  Popular with all ages (over 21 years of age) I served a few saved wedges to my parents, Father-in-Law, and my dad's 85 year old cousin the following night and actually had my Father-in-Law ask for seconds.  Jell-O shots do indeed span the generations!

Happy National Vodka Day 2011!

Limoncello

Living in Southern California, and more particularly near my dad, we have an abundance of citrus.  Dad's "groves" (he has a small plot of land but lots of trees!) include lime, orange and lemon.  His mature lemon tree produces nearly year around and supplements the baby tree that we have growing in our own "groves".  With literally hundreds of the yellow fruits ripe at any one time we try to find recipes to use them up as it just breaks our heart to toss them if we can't find an eager recipient.

Limoncello is just the type of recipe that makes you feel good about using lots of the produce.  Using a vegetable peeler, my husband peels strips of rind as thin as he can from the lemons and places them into a jar.  While the peeling does indeed take a bit of time, the completion of this section of the recipe simply calls for "pouring vodka over to cover".  The citrusy jar then goes into the closet for a rest until we remember it is there, usually about 4 weeks or so.

I'm always amazed how quickly the liquid takes on a brilliant yellow hue and emits a most lovely lemony scent.  Within 24 hours the oils from the rind have already begun releasing into the vodka giving the color and scent.  After a good 4 week or so rest, the vodka is ready to be "cut" with a simple syrup of water and sugar.

A quick internet search will turn up dozens of recipes, all somewhat different.  I found one recipe calling for a steeping time of 4 days and another asking for 44+ days.  I also found great variations in the amount of simple syrup used as well as the water/sugar ratios leading me to believe that this beverage is a bit of an imprecise science and that you really can't go wrong.

Next year's lemon crop!

Cutting the Lemon Vodka is indeed imprecise involving variations and personal taste.  My husband has made the Limoncello twice with the lemons being riper the second time.  The riper lemons seemed to release a more citrusy flavor requiring less of the simple syrup than the first batch with less ripe lemons.  His advice was to mix up the simple syrup and add in batches rather than all at once, adjusting to suit your taste and making sure that you haven't gone too sweet.

Brilliant in color and rich with a delightful scent this Italian beverage makes a special treat over crushed ice on a warm summer day (or even a cold winters day, for that matter...).  Limoncello can also be a tasty addition to baked goods and glazes adding a lovely lemony boost to the finished product.