Hazelnut Homemade Mylk (Milk)
Decadent, luxurious + totally indulgence-worthy, this homemade hazelnut milk is absolutely heavenly + it pairs perfectly with our pumpkin cookies! I use a mix of soaked hazelnuts + almonds, but feel free to use all hazelnuts if you prefer. It's lightly flavored with notes of caramel (from Medjool dates), cinnamon, + a whole vanilla bean + you could turn it into an insane chocolate hazelnut milk quite easily by adding a tablespoon or two of Cacao Magic powder.
Ingredients:
- 3/4 C raw hazelnuts, soaked overnight
- 1/4 C raw almonds, soaked overnight
- 3 1/2 C water
- 3-4 pitted Medjool dates, to taste
- 1 vanilla bean, roughly chopped
- 1/2 t cinnamon
- tiny pinch of fine grain sea salt (I used pink but plain will be just fine!)
Directions:
- Place hazelnuts + almonds in a bowl, 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.
- Rinse + drain the soaked hazelnuts + almonds. Place nuts into a blender along with water, pitted dates, vanilla bean, cinnamon + salt.
- Cover and blend on highest speed for 1 minute or so.
- Place a nut milk bag (here is the bag I love) over a large bowl + 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 C of pulp in the bag. See my tips below on using the leftover pulp.
- Rinse out blender and pour the milk back in. Now, pour it easily into a Mason jar + 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 faves - use as a creamer in iced or hot coffee or tea.
Extra Tips:
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 or stevia instead of dates. Same goes for vanilla – feel free to use vanilla extract for a more subtle vanilla flavor.
2) Ideas for using leftover pulp: make cookies, stir into oatmeal or muffin batter, add to smoothies, make crackers, or you can even dehydrate it + 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 mylk 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).
4) I recommend using a high speed blender for this. Vitamix or Blendtec are best, in my opinion! Have you ever tried this in a food processor? I bet it would work out well.
