Ditch Baileys: Making Your Own Irish Cream Liqueur Couldn't Be Easier

Whether you're on the hunt for the best booze to liven up your Christmas hot chocolate or looking for a fun and thoughtful holiday gift, you can't go wrong with homemade Irish cream liqueur. The homemade stuff not only tastes better, and making a big batch yourself is also usually less expensive — not to mention, you'll have bragging rights when people inevitably tell you how good it is. You can even pair the recipe with individual-sized bottles so your loved ones can try their hand at making it themselves.

Even though Baileys certainly tastes like it has some special secret ingredient in it, most copycat recipes are just a blend of sweetened condensed milk, heavy cream, chocolate syrup, vanilla and almond extracts, and a dash of instant coffee whisked together with your favorite Irish whiskey. The condensed milk and chocolate syrup bring the right levels of sweetness to balance the astringent booze, while the extracts and instant coffee add that extra little something that takes this from a batch of adults-only chocolate milk to Irish cream territory.

Once everything is emulsified to your satisfaction, it's best to store homemade Irish liqueur in the fridge until you're ready to use it. Though the whiskey will help keep it fresh, the inclusion of dairy means keeping it cold is the best way to keep it from spoiling. However, you should never put Irish cream in the freezer, as it's not boozy enough to stay liquid and being frozen will ruin its texture.

When making any recipe from prepackaged ingredients (rather than entirely from scratch), it's important to remember that the result will only be as good as the sum of its parts. Be sure to use high-quality sweetened condensed milk and chocolate syrup, and whipping cream that's cold and fresh. This may also be a fun way to use homemade flavoring extracts, if you enjoy making them yourself. However, it's also perfectly fine to use store-bought — just be sure to pick a reliable brand that produces pure extracts.

Possibly the best thing about making copycat recipes at home is that you can adjust the flavors however you like. For instance, you could replace the chocolate syrup with caramel, strawberry, or even peanut butter ice cream topping. Even ratios of peanut butter and strawberry would produce a PB&J-flavored cream liqueur, while using caramel and replacing the almond extract with coconut produces a delicious tropical flavor. Even something as simple as swapping almond extract for peppermint is enough to completely change the flavor profile.

Additionally, there's no rule that says you can't leave out the booze if you're making this drink for a diverse crowd that includes kids or teetotalers. This also gives you even more delicious ways to use your Irish cream, since there's nothing stopping you from dolloping it into your coffee, using it to make milkshakes, or even drizzling it into a lunchtime parfait for a touch of festive flavor.