Last Christmas, I learned how to make homemade Kahlua and gave it as gifts to some of by branding clients. For those who are not familiar with Kahlua, it’s a coffee liquor that is make with rum, sugar, vanilla bean and coffee - resulting in a rich and sweet liquor.

Since I had not made Kahlua before, I wasn’t sure how it would be received - but it got rave reviews! (So good, that I used a few bottles at our annual White Elephant exchange!).

Like the Limoncello recipe, this one is also very easy to make and only has a few ingredients. I came up with a recipe that would be great throughout the holidays or cold seasons and make little kits to go along with the bottle of Kahlua.

First, I’ll tell you how I made it:

Ingredients:

• 5 cups strong and hot fresh brewed coffee - I used the pictured instant coffee and it worked well.

• 8 cups sugar, organic if possible

• 5 cups dark rum

• 1 inch vanilla bean - cut in half lengthwise for aged quality or 1 tablespoon of a good quality vanilla extract for instant gratification

• 1/4 cup homemade vanilla

• amber colored bottles for bottling

• coffee beans, optional

• Labels for gifting

Make the coffee and while it’s hot, stir the sugar into it so it dissolves. Let this mixture cool and then stir in in the rum and vanilla. Slice vanilla beans in 1/2 (lengthwise) and place the slices into your prepared bottles - you can also add a coffee bean or two to each bottle. Funnel the cooled mixture into your bottles and store in a cool, dry place away from lots of light for 3 weeks. Alternately, you can make this mixture and let the entire batch sit for 3 weeks and then funnel into your bottles - that way, you can make it first and then purchase the rest of the supplies while it’s curing.

I printed this label set on waterproof label paper that works well on bottles that might have drips or need wiring off. The labels are editable so that ingredients can be updated and the “made on” date can be typed. It’s always nice to know when an edible gift has been made! These can be cut out with scissors or a blade with a straight edge.

These make a perfect “edible gift” idea - especially during the holiday season! I use one bottle of this Kahlua, a small pack of ground coffee, a cute coffee mug, and a few recipes for coffee drinks.