Coffee Infused Almond Milk...

I MAY have been a little too excited about this idea.  It MIGHT have actually kept me awake last night imagining all of the flavors in the cold brew coffee and the soaking almonds just down the hallway in the kitchen.  I DEFINITELY had to keep telling myself that it probably wouldn't be as good as I was dreaming.  But guess what?  I was wrong!  This turned out AMAZING!!

I started by following these super simple directions for cold brewing coffee.

Then I started soaking my almonds so that in the morning, when my cold brew coffee was ready, my almonds would be prepped to make this delicious recipe for homemade almond milk.

But here's where I mixed things up a bit...  I decided to replace half of the water for the almond milk with the cold brew coffee.  Let me just say, this is some of the creamiest, smoothest, most delicious coffee I have ever tasted.  Make sure you start with some really good coffee beans, because cold brewing those bad boys really brings out all the fullness of their flavor.  This recipe is somewhat time consuming, but you'll be glad you did it!

Ingredients:
1 1/3 C. fresh fine ground coffee beans
4 C. filtered water
2 C. raw almonds
4 C. filtered water (plus more for soaking the almonds)
1 tsp. vanilla

Begin by cold brewing the coffee.  Grind coffee beans and place in a glass container large enough to hold all of your grounds and 4 cups of filtered water.  My french press can just hold all of this, so that's what I used.  Cover the top with plastic wrap and set aside.  You'll want to let this sit out on the counter anywhere from 24-12 hours.

The night before (or 12 hours or so before) you want to make your almond milk place the almonds in a bowl and cover with water.  Place a good amount in there because my almonds absorbed a full cup of water during this process.  Cover and leave to soak.

In the morning pour the coffee through a filter.  I used my french press to pour the coffee into a glass container, and then I poured that through a paper coffee filter to get all of the silt out.  If you like a little grit in your coffee feel free to skip this step.  Set the coffee aside.  Drain and rinse the almonds and place them and 1 tsp. vanilla in a blender with 4 cups filtered water.  Blend water, vanilla and almonds for a good 5 minutes.  If you have a nut milk bag place it in a bowl and pour the almond milk into it.  If you don't want to fork out the money for a nut milk bag... place a clean t-shirt inside a colander.  Place the colander over a bowl and pour the almond milk into the t-shirt.  Allow to drain through, then gather the edges of the bag or t-shirt and twist and then squeeze the milk through the fabric and into the bowl.  The almond meal will stay in the fabric while the milk drips out.  Now that you have your concentrated coffee and almond milk, pour them into a pitcher and stir to combine.  Refrigerate and stir before serving.

If you want to make a ridiculously delicious mocha, add 1-2 Tbls. of chocolate syrup to 3/4 cup almond coffee, stir well and pour over ice.  Or you can blend the coffee and ice together.  Be aware that blending may cause the coffee to be more icy than smooth as the majority of the almond milk is water.  Enjoy!!

PS - SAVE THAT ALMOND MEAL!!   Spread it out on a cookie sheet and leave it in an oven on a low temperature for a few hours to dry it out.  You can use it to bake delicious gluten-free short breads and cookies, or to coat and bake chicken, or use it as a flour replacement in your favorite recipes.