Amaretto is one of those liquors that I don't usually buy, because it's a little too specialty for me. This homemade version solves this problem! You can use any vodka that you want. I chose an organic brand - Prairie. See yesterday's post for more information on that type. I've become a big fan.
I'm working on a whole series of DIY gifts for the holidays. This happens to be the first one. Next week is PIE WEEK, and I needed some amaretto for one recipe, so I had to let the cat out of the bag a little early. It's so simple and quick to make.
If you don't have any coconut sugar on hand, you can substitute brown sugar in this recipe. I don't like to use the processed sugars as much, so try to avoid them if you can. Your body will thank you later.
Ingredients:
Lightly adapted from Bella Limento
1 1/2 c. water
1 c. coconut sugar
2 T. almond extract
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. vodka, like Prairie
sprinkle of cinnamon
Directions:
On a stop top, heat the water, sugar, and cinnamon over medium-high heat. You want to dissolve all of the sugar completely. Heat and reduce for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let it cool for 10 minutes.
In the mean time, in a heat safe bowl, combine the vodka, vanilla, and almond. When the water/sugar mixture is somewhat cooled, pour it into this bowl and stir.
Once it was really cool, I poured mine into a Nalgene bottle to measured it. This recipe makes about 30 ounces of amaretto.
I recycled some of these organic salad dressing bottles from Target and stripped the labels off of them. Once cleaned, you can add your own labels and tags to them - they're the perfect size! This recipe fills about three of them.
Enjoy gifting this amaretto; it's great for both drinking and baking :-)
Cheers!
-Aileen