I can remember the first time I tried Horchata was in Colorado. My Dads family lives in a town where 1/2 the population is Mexican. And so my cousin took me down to a restaurant just to try Horchata because he was shocked that I had never tried it and according to him, it was the “Milk of the Gods!” Haha
I have to say that now I feel the same way. Whenever we go out to eat (very very rarely) and it’s at a taco place, I always have to order a Horchata! The blend of cinnamon and milk brings a warm comfort with the slight hint of rice makes it the perfect drink!! After I found out how EASY it is to make I am going to have this in my fridge a lot more often. The hardest part is just waiting the 8 hrs for it to be ready!!
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cups uncooked white long-grain rice
- 2 whole cinnamon sticks
- 4 cups water
- 1 cup milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- Ice
- Ground cinnamon, for garnish
Tips
- I normally double the recipe to make 1 (2qt) pitcher full
- Don’t be tempted to use just ground cinnamon for soaking with the rice over night. It tends to float to the top, leaving a layer that isn’t so pleasing. You need the real cinnamon sticks! Then for garnishing your drink after it’s all made, you can sprinkle on ground cinnamon.
Directions
- Combine the rice, cinnamon sticks, and 2 cups of the water in a blender. Blend until the rice and cinnamon sticks are roughly ground up (1 to 2 minutes). Add the 2 remaining cups of water and blend again.
- Let the rice mixture soak at room temperature at least 8 hours, or overnight.
- Once the rice mixture has soaked for at least 8 hours, pour through a fine mesh strainer into a pitcher. (I like to use a piece cheese cloth doubled over the pitcher). Discard the rice and cinnamon stick solids and rinse the strainer well. Strain the mixture again one more time, just to make sure the horchata isn’t gritty.
- Stir in the milk, vanilla, and sugar, then chill ready to serve. Serve over plenty of ice with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon on top.
Yummy Woodberries 