This simple and easy dairy-free coffee creamer is exceptionally rich and luxurious – the closest thing I’ve found to half-and-half so far.
Yield: 16
Ingredients
1cupcashewsraw and unsalted
1cupwaterup to 2 cups, depending on the consistency you prefer; plus additional water for soaking
1teaspoonpure vanilla extractoptional
pinchsaltoptional
Instructions
Place cashews in large jar or bowl. Cover with about 2 cups of boiling water, making sure all of the cashews are submerged. Let soak for 20 minutes. Pour cashews and liquid into a fine-mesh strainer to strain the soaking liquid. Rinse.
Drain the water and discard. Place drained cashews in the pitcher of a blender. Add 1 cup of water, vanilla if using, and salt if using. Blend until completely smooth, about 1 minute, adding more water a couple of tablespoons at a time if needed to get it moving. Add additional water, up to another 1/2 to 1 cup or so, until it's the creamer is consistency you like. I go for a rich and creamy, half-and-half-ish thickness. But also know that your cashew creamer will thicken in the fridge.
Use in coffee just as you would any other creamer. Keeps refrigerated in an airtight container for about 5 days. It might separate in the fridge; simply shake before pouring.
Notes
Recipe updates
1/29/2020: I've updated this recipe to use more cashews (1 cup instead of 1/2 cup) and to start out with a bit less water than before. I found that the 1/2 cup of cashews didn't make enough creamer for me to make it worthwhile. And for the water, it's always better to start out with less - you can always add more, but you can't take it away! I also updated the soaking method; instead of the longer soaking method, I've defaulted to the fast (boiling water/20 minute) method. I find that's the one I use most often and figure that might be the preference for readers as well.