Coffee Shop Worthy Caramel Vanilla Bean Hazelnut Milk

Vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, no bake/raw, oil-free, refined sugar-free, soy-free

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Decadent, luxurious, and totally splurge-worthy, this homemade hazelnut milk is fit for a high end coffee shop and it pairs perfectly in a cup of coffee or black tea. I use a mix of soaked hazelnuts and almonds, but feel free to use all hazelnuts if you prefer. It's lightly flavoured with notes of caramel (from Medjool dates), cinnamon, and a whole vanilla bean and I imagine you could turn it into a chocolate hazelnut milk quite easily by adding a bit of dutch-processed cocoa powder. This recipe is lightly adapted from my Homemade Almond Milk recipe.

Yield
3-3 1/2 cups
Soak time
overnight or 2-8 hours
Prep Time
10 Minutes
Cook time
0 Minutes
Total Time
10 Minutes

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup raw hazelnuts
  • 1/4 cup raw almonds
  • 3 1/2 cups water
  • 2 1/2-3 pitted Medjool dates, to taste
  • 1 vanilla bean, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • tiny pinch of fine grain sea salt (optional)

Directions:

  1. Place hazelnuts and almonds in a bowl and cover with water. It’s preferred to soak them overnight (for 8-12 hours) in the water, but you can get away with soaking for 1-2 hours in a pinch.
  2. Rinse and drain the soaked hazelnuts and almonds. Place nuts into a blender along with water, pitted dates, vanilla bean, cinnamon, and salt (if using).
  3. Cover and blend on highest speed for 1 minute or so.
  4. Place a nut milk bag (here is the bag I love) over a large bowl and slowly pour the milk mixture into the bag. Gently squeeze the bottom of the bag to release the milk. This process can take 3-5 minutes, so be patient. You should be left with about 1 cup of pulp in the bag. See my tips below on using the leftover pulp.
  5. Rinse out blender and pour the milk back in. Now, pour it easily into a Mason jar and secure with lid. Chill in the fridge. It will stay fresh for 2-3 days. Give the jar a good shake before enjoying. Drink it alone, use it in cereal or smoothies, make hot oatmeal, and one of my favourites - use as a creamer in coffee or black tea.

1) If your dates or vanilla bean are dry/stiff, soak in water to soften before use. You can also use another sweetener of your choice like maple syrup instead of dates. Same goes for vanilla – feel free to use vanilla extract for a more subtle vanilla flavour.

2) Ideas for using leftover pulp: stir into oatmeal or muffin batter, add to smoothies, make crackers, or you can even dehydrate it and then blend it up to make hazelnut meal. You can freeze it for a later use too.

3) You might be wondering – If I don’t have a nut milk bag can I use a fine mesh sieve? Yes you can. I don't find the milk gets as smooth compared to using a nut milk bag, but if you strain it several times, it comes out decent. Also, feel free to try a cheesecloth (you can even line the sieve with a layer of cheesecloth).

1/2 cup130 calories10 grams0.5 grams0 milligrams8 grams3 grams5 grams3 grams

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