Say hello to a self-proclaimed milk snob.
That’s me.
Ever since I was a kid I disliked milk. The smell and taste made me queasy, so I rarely drank it straight. The only times I accepted milk were in a milkshake, hot chocolate, a little poured over cereal, or in Quaker strawberries and cream oatmeal. Watching other people drink milk from a bowl—pink, purple, chocolate or plain—made my skin crawl. I didn’t dunk cookies either, and I still sometimes find the idea off-putting.
I know, I’m weird. Ignore me.
One thing that really made me shudder was seeing someone take a big gulp of milk mid-chew—my cousin did that during lunch about twenty years ago and it became legendary. We still tease him about it every time we get together.
Almond and coconut milks—especially vanilla-flavored versions—changed everything for me. While I’m a chocolate-lover at heart, when it comes to flavored drinks that aren’t actual chocolate bars, give me vanilla. I happily pour vanilla almond or coconut milk over cereal, bake with them, blend them into smoothies, and yes, I might even dunk a cookie now and then.
My cousin and I became obsessed with making cashew milk. Ob.sessed. Last fall we took long walks where our conversations revolved entirely around cashew milk. I’d been buying large bags of cashews for months, only to eat them before remembering to soak them—classic.
Finally, after a nudge from a friend, I moved a bag of cashews to a bowl, covered them with water, and left them to soak overnight.
I made two versions: one with scraped vanilla bean seeds, ground cinnamon, and honey; and another with pure vanilla extract, whole cinnamon sticks, and honey. My husband thought the vanilla bean version looked like it had “bugs” in it, so I made the extract version for a cleaner appearance. I love the vanilla bean look, though—it’s pretty, even if it surprises some people.
And yes, I made cashew milk without a high-end blender. I used a Magic Bullet (not my favorite), working in batches. It gave me a thick, silky vanilla cashew milk that I’ve been using constantly. Someday I’ll upgrade to a bigger blender, but for now this worked fine.
Creamy Vanilla Bean Cashew Milk
Recipe adapted slightly
Ingredients:
2 cups raw, unsalted cashews
6 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon vanilla extract or 2 vanilla bean pods, seeds scraped
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon or 2 cinnamon sticks
2 1/2 tablespoons honey (more to taste)
Pinch of salt
Method:
Place cashews in a large glass bowl and cover with water. Soak overnight. In the morning, drain and rinse the cashews until the water runs clear. Combine cashews and water in a blender and puree until completely smooth. If using a smaller blender, work in batches.
Strain the blended mixture through a very fine mesh strainer or doubled cheesecloth placed over a large bowl. Use the back of a spoon to press the liquid through; this will take a few minutes. Reserve the cashew pulp for another use.
Return the strained milk to the blender and add ground cinnamon, salt, honey, and vanilla extract. If you prefer to infuse with whole vanilla beans and cinnamon sticks, add honey and salt in the blender, pour the milk into a container, then add the split beans and sticks to steep.
Refrigerate and shake before using. The cashew milk should stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to a week.
If you have ideas for using the leftover cashew pulp, I’d love to hear them—ten points to the best suggestion.