For those cold winter evenings

So, my year of actually doing my Pinterest Pins is starting off now.  I'm aiming for at least one a week, as I've mentioned previously.  I know that it sounds like a lot, but there are so many organization tips and recipes and so forth, in addition to all the crafty ideas, that I should be able to have something to talk about each week.  Inspired by The Vintage Apple (another crafty blog), and her Oh How Pinteresting Wednesdays, I think I will also try to keep them on Wednesdays, if I can remember.

So, to kick things off, here's a recipe I found (of course) via Pinterest.  And it's perfect for this time of year, too!  Hot drinks are perfect for winter, so here is my attempt at: 

Homemade Instant Chai Mix

I became addicted to vanilla chai lattes back in SC, as the little coffee shop right across the street from my apartment has a deeeeee-licious one.  But this stuff is freakin' expensive, as drink mixes go!  Yes, it does taste better if you actually brew the Chai tea bags (there are a few brands that have a specific Chai box in amongst the Earl Grey and Peppermint and English Breakfast and so on) and then add the milk and spices yourself.  But let's face it: that isn't always practical.  So, this is a nice alternative to hot coco as a sweet after-dinner sort of hot drink.

There are several version of this recipe floating out about there.  As usual, I'll make some notes at the bottom here of the other versions I've found.  The one I started with was from MomAdvice, where they posted about homemade instant coco and instant chai latte mixes.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup nonfat dry milk powder
• 1 cup powdered non-dairy creamer
• 1 cup French vanilla powdered non-dairy creamer
• 2 ½ cups white sugar
• 1 ½ cups unsweetened instant tea
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp allspice
• ¼ tsp white pepper

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until it is a fine powder. 
2. If you have a small food processor (as I do), you can combine everything in a bowl first, then pulse smaller batches of the mix in the food processor.  Pulse the smaller quantities in the food processor before transferring the mix into its storage container.   I found that my 8oz. canning jars held about 2.5 "fill-ups" of mix in my Mini-Chop food processor (Does that make sense?  I'm trying to say, it took 5 times of filling the Mini-Chop with mix to fill the 2 jars.  I wasn't paying close attention to my measuring cups as I was going along, so I can't be more specific than that...)
3. Store mix in waterproof, airtight containers.  I used an store-bought instant Chai container that I had just emptied, as well as 2 canning jars.  The whole recipe above filled those 3 containers, plus 3 T. to make a fresh cup as I was finishing up.  Had to make sure everything tastes alright, you know?  Old cocoa tins or Crystal Light containers would also work as storage, particularly if you want unbreakable containers.  Store in a cool, dry place.
4. To serve: Add two-three tablespoons of mix to 6-8 ounces of hot water or milk.

 

Notes, Variations, etc.

The ingredient list above is printed as I found it on MomAdvice.  However, as with any recipe using that many spices, you can customize it to your particular taste.  For example, the changes I made were:

• I don't like the white pepper kick in some chai, so I just omitted it.  
• I used 2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Seasoning instead of the 1 tsp each of nutmeg and allspice, as that's what I have in my spice cabinet.  Means that my mix has more cinnamon and ginger flavoring to it, since those are also contained in the Pumpkin Pie Seasoning. 
• I like a stronger vanilla flavor in my chai lattes, so instead of splitting the creamer as half plain and half French Vanilla, I just made all 2 cups the vanilla creamer.  
• Finally, I made mine sugar-free, using Splenda instead of sugar.  The end mix still turned out well.  Yes, yes, I know - chemicals into the body, but for those trying to watch our calories, hot drinks can carry a lot of sugar in them.  If you are someone who's sensitive to the tastes of sweeteners, though, I'd recommend sticking to the original white sugar called for.  

Oh, and as a side note, I got 2 batches of mix from one 3 oz. jar of instant tea.  Just to give you an idea for quantities.

 Allrecipes.com is (of course) a wealth of tips and variations and so forth, and this recipe is no exception.  It's the same as the recipe I used here, only with the pepper, nutmeg, and allspice listed as optional spices.  I love the tips and variations, though.  Be sure to read through them, as there is some great information in the comments!

Also on Allrecipes is a slightly different version using a mix of brown sugar and confectioner's sugar instead of the white sugar.  It also uses Vanilla Powder instead of the vanilla creamer.  I might have to keep an eye out for that, as I love a very strong vanilla flavor in my chai.

KitchenWitch on RecipeSecrets.net suggests that if you're concerned about the cost of the cardamom, which can definitely get expensive, you can buy the seeds whole (much cheaper) and grind them to a powder yourself using a coffee bean grinder.

MomAdvice also recommends this as a good gift idea, though I know that the season has passed us. With a cute mug, or some fun ribbons and wrapping, I can definitely see that!