While I was away...

Good morning!

While I was away, I made three new liqueurs. When I went to Portland a couple of years ago, I brought back some hazelnuts. I made some Homemade Frangelico with them. It's time consuming, but well worth the effort. I also made some Amaretto, Blackberry Liqueur and some more Kahlua. 

I thought long and hard about how I wanted to gift them. They aged for a year and a half before I bottled them up and gave them for holiday gifts.  I found these pretty bottles at AC Moore on sale for $1.00. So, I printed up some labels and went with it. 

Here are the links to the recipes I used. I adjusted each recipe to make 4 times the amount so I could gift a large amount and keep some for myself:

Homemade Frangelico, after straining, ready to go in closet for aging: http://www.guntheranderson.com/liqueurs/frangeli.htm

 Amaretto, ready for aging. I used this recipe because I could use almond extract instead of almonds. (The Frangelico start is to the left): http://allrecipes.com/recipe/17770/amaretto/

I make extracts with leftover vodka. This is orange and vanilla started. I used the strained hazelnuts to make extract, also (added a vanilla bean to that one):

Blackberry Liqueur (I used frozen blackberries): https://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles/how-make-blackberry-liqueur

Homemade Kahlua, ready for aging: http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/prt/0,233,156188-231206,00.html?

I really like the Blackberry liqueur in lemon/lime soda with a lime slice over ice. :)

All of these are good in coffee, over ice cream, over ice, alone or mixed into cocktails. You can even mix and match these to make an endless list of drinks to enjoy. Let me know how you use them. :)