Improve your brunch with homemade amaretto

A friend recently made blueberry tea for our knitting group – and not the kind made from the superfood.

The kind made with booze.

The concoction is made with hot tea, Grand Marnier and amaretto. It was warm and comforting, especially for those of us with a bit of the winter crud.

When I learned another friend had made the amaretto, it piqued my interest in making my own. A quick Internet search showed how easy the recipe is, and that I already had almost everything I needed.

The recipe starts with making syrup using a blend of white and brown sugars. Because at least one website I visited suggested the amaretto recipe was too sweet, I used less white sugar than the recipe called for – about ¾ cup instead of 1 cup. I’ll probably use even less next time.

When it comes time to add the vodka, don’t use top shelf. I didn’t buy the cheapest at the grocery store, but it definitely came from one of the lower shelves.

The recipe promises the amaretto gets better with age. I can’t vouch for that. But, it does make weekend brunch coffee a little yummier. And one of these days, I may even make myself a blueberry tea. I better check the liquor cabinet to make sure we have Grand Marnier.

Amaretto

From Allrecipes.com

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 cups vodka

2 tablespoons almond extract

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Combine water and sugars in a saucepan over medium heat. Heat until the mixture is boiling, and all of the sugar is dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture cool for 30 minutes.

Stir vodka, almond extract and vanilla extract into the mixture. Strain through a coffee filter for a clearer amaretto and store in a sealed bottle. The amaretto should last for a long while. (You can drink the amaretto immediately, but you’ll find it gets better with age.)