Making your own Homemade Irish Cream may at first seem excessive. Why spend the time to make something that you can so easily purchase in a bottle? However, let us change your mind. This stuff is delicious!

Bailey’s Irish Cream is a favorite cold-weather indulgence and it is particularly popular around St. Patrick’s Day.

It only takes about 5 minutes to mix up your own Homemade Irish Cream! And, you can tweak the degree of sweetness and other flavors to suit your fancy. It keeps about two weeks in the fridge and makes a fabulous gift. Or try it in our recipe for Hot Chocolate with Guinness, Whiskey, and Baileys.

Homemade Irish Cream
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Yields 30 ounces

Ingredients
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup heavy or whipping cream
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup Irish whiskey (We recommend Jameson)

Directions
In the bottom of a pitcher or a large jar, whisk cocoa powder and a spoonful of cream into a paste.

Add more cream by the spoonful while you are slowly whisking the entire time. The resulting paste would be smooth. As the paste begins to soften, you can add the remainder of the cream in larger batches.

When all of the cream is incorporated and the liquid is smooth, whisk in the condensed milk, whiskey, and vanilla.

Cover the container and keep it in the fridge for up to two weeks.

Serve in a small cup filled with ice, or splash some into your coffee.

Variations
1. Mix 1 teaspoon instant espresso or coffee powder with the cocoa.
2. To decrease sweetness add more cream and more whiskey a littile at a time.
3. To reduce the alcohol add more cream and condensed milk a littile at a time.
4. And, you can always increase the amount of whiskey to make it boozier.