Coffee creamer is something that I once believed made life worth living. However, after reading the ingredients time and time again, I have decided that good ole half and half isn’t so bad.
Powdered flavored coffee creamer: Sugar, Corn Syrup Solids, Vegetable Oil (Partially Hydrogenated Coconut Or Palm Kernel, Hydrogenated Soybean), Sodium Caseinate (A Milk Derivative)**, And Less Than 2% Of Dipotassium Phosphate (Moderates Coffee Acidity), Mono- And Diglycerides (Prevents Oil Separation), Sodium Aluminosilicate, Salt, Natural & Artificial Flavor.
**Not A Source Of Lactose.
This Product Is Non-Dairy, Lactose-Free, Cholesterol-Free And Gluten-Free.
Liquid flavored coffee creamer: Water, Sugar, Palm Oil, Contains 2% or less of each of the following: Sodium Caseinate* (A Milk Derivative), Dipotassium Phosphate, Natural And Artificial Flavors, Mono And Diglycerides, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Polysorbate 60, Carrageenan, Salt. *Sodium Caseinate is not a source of lactose.
Both coffee creamers list sugar as the top ingredient, which means that most of the product is sugar. (Did you know that the ingredients are listed by amount in the product?) The second ingredient is oil. Palm oil is better for you than hydrogenated oil, but it still isn’t great.
I am particularly fond of the “This product is Non-Dairy, Lactose-Free, Cholesterol-Free, and Gluten-Free.” This is proof that these buzz words do not make a product healthy.
I did not like the taste of homemade coffee creamers that contain sweetened condensed milk, but have found that mixing half and half with some sugar and an extract or spice of your choosing tastes pretty good. My personal favorite is half and half, sugar, and cinnamon.
Here are a few recipes if you want to give it a whirl.
The base will be the same for all creamers. Put two cups of half and half, 4 tablespoon of sweetener, and the powdered spice into a sauce pan and heat to a steam, but not a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and add the extracts.
Cinnamon coffee cream:
2 cups half and half
4 tablespoons sweetener (sugar, honey, maple syrup)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
Chocolate Almond coffee cream:
2 cups half and half
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
4 tablespoons sweetener
1 teaspoon almond extract
Peppermint chocolate coffee cream:
2 cups half and half
4 tablespoons sweetener
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
There are a million recipes out there, but these are my favorites. Hopefully you will like them too!
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