Homemade Horchata Recipe

Prep time: 4 hours to overnight

Serves 8-12 servings; about 10 cups

Horchata Ingredients:

• 2 cups long grain rice
• 2 cinnamon sticks, broken into 3 pieces
• 3/4 cup of slivered almonds
• ¾ cup of sugar
• 1 cup almond vanilla milk (I prefer Almond Breeze)
• 1 12oz can evaporated milk
• 6 cups of cold water; divided in half
• 1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a large bowl add the first three ingredients, cover and refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours but overnight is preferred.
2. Remove the cinnamon sticks, minus one piece and place all ingredients from bowl plus the sugar to your blender. Blend until all ingredients are smooth; according your blenders manufacture instructions (e.g. Vitamix).
3. Using a fine mesh strainer and several layers of cheesecloth over a pitcher/large bowl/large measuring cup; pour the blended ingredients over the cheesecloth using a spatula to help the liquid move through the cloth. You may have to repeat this process twice depending on how many layers of cheesecloth you are using.
4. To the mixture, add in the remaining ingredients (i.e. almond milk, evaporated milk, 3 cups of water, and vanilla extract), mix to combine and refrigerator until chilled and ready to use.