Cool coffee goodness....

In another blog, I recently commented about my recipe for homemade kahlua....and it made me thirsty. So I promptly ran home from work and broke out the last remaining bottle of handcrafted tastiness that I have stashed in the corner of my wine rack and had a little nip.

I found this recipe many moons ago in a random book I purchased at a kitchen outlet store in Iowa. This one, along with the recipe it holds for blackberry brandy, are irreplaceable in my culinary repertoir. And, just because I'm the kind of enabler that I am, I'm going to share it with you.....it just makes the yummiest White Russians in the world. Now remember, "garbage in, garbage out". I use nice, high quality espresso powder, top shelf vodka, and my best vanilla for this recipe - it makes all the difference.

Coffee Liqueur
makes about 5 cups

1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar (I prefer dark brown)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 cups water
1/2 cup instant coffee powder (my preference - Medaglia d'Oro espresso powder)
3 cups vodka
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
10 whole coffee beans

In a heavy saucepan, combine the sugars with the water and bring to a boil over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally. Lower the heat and simmer until the mixture forms a light syrup, about 5 minutes.

Stir the coffee powder into the syrup with a whisk until they dissolve and the mixture is free of lumps. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool completely.

Stir in the remaining ingredients until smooth. Funnel the mixture into a half-gallon glass bottle (or several smaller bottles, if you plan to gift these, which I often do; drop in the whole coffee beans. Cover tightly. Let mature at least 2 weeks. Strain out coffee beans, if desired.