My husband and I got hooked on flavored coffee creamer when we were on deputation int he US. Especially around Christmas, they have so many wonderful choices -- Coconut Cream, Cinnamon Vanilla, Raspberry Chocolate...... You get the picture!

Unfortunately, around here we get the basic French Vanilla and Hazelnut. And unless they are on sale the budget doesn't allow for the extravagance. Well, I did a little web surfing and tried some recipes and this simple CHEAP recipe is the best I've tried.


2 cups  powdered creamer
2 cups water
1 cup sugar (or sweetener)
1 TBSP of your favorite extract

Stir until smooth while bringing it to a boil. Then let it cool. It keeps pretty well in the fridge (as if it lasts that long in our house!) This recipe fills one of the large Coffee Mates Liquid Creamer bottles. For chocolate, you could add some cocoa powder (I haven't tried this yet, so I don't know how much.)

My favorite flavors:

1 TBSP artificial Vanilla with 1 tsp of pure peppermint extract

1 TBSP coconut extract

1 TBSP Almond extract and 1-2 tsp ground cinnamon makes a great Amaretto

Be creative. Just in case you want to try more than one flavor at a time, remember 1 TBSP is equal to 3 tsp. When trying new flavors, you might want to cut the recipe down just in case its not what you were looking for! If you prefer powdered creamer simply omit the water and keep in a cool dry place. Also, if you're making it dry, its best to mix it in a food processor. We buy the generic brand creamer in the big coffee can size for a little over $5 and I find I can make at least 4 to 5 bottles of creamer. So, this is way cheaper than the store bought stuff that we can get for $4 on sale!

Enjoy!