Last year some of my neighborhood friends got together and made a huge batch of homemade Baileys Irish Cream suitable for gift-giving. It was a fun night for all involved, 
and we came away with lots of cute little jar gifts of our homemade Baileys Irish Cream to give away to friends and family at Christmas time.
Here’s the Baileys Irish Cream recipe we used:
1 3/4 C. Irish whiskey (we used Southern Comfort)
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 C. heavy cream or half-and-half
2 Tbsp. chocolate syrup
2 Tbsp. instant coffee granules
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract
Mix all ingredients until well-blended. Pour your Irish Cream into jars or other containers. We used decorative fabric and ribbon as well to make them look more festive for gift-giving. Refrigerate immediately, and chill before serving.
If you’re going to do a get-together like we did, double or triple the recipe as needed. You’ll want a five-gallon bucket for mixing your Irish Cream. Because it contains heavy cream, refrigeration is necessary. Your homemade Bailey’s Irish Cream should keep well until the expiration date on the cream container (if it lasts that long!).
Drink it straight, over ice, in coffee, in hot cocoa, over ice cream… the possibilities are endless! (thanks for the great line, Shawnda!)
Cheers!
This is great. I would love to make it. How many containers and what size does the original recipie make (not doubled or tripled)?
We more than tripled the recipe, and used many containers of varying sizes – so I’m afraid I can’t be of much guidance to you in that area.
Do you know how long this will keep?
OMG! I am lactose intolerant and this stuff would KILL me, but it would be WORTH it!!
You could try w a coconut milk…and a coconut cream as substitutes. Would have to let us know how it goes.
Maybe I am slow today but this confuses me
” Refrigerate immediately, and chill before serving.”
Does this mean it does or does not need to REMAIN refrigerated? I read it to mean it does not since it says to “chill before serving” – if it were in the fridge it would already be chilled, no?
Like I said I am slow today – love the idea
It should remain in the refrigerator, but you may prefer it colder than fridge temp or even on the rocks when you serve it. Sorry it wasn’t clear. Enjoy!
I love this idea, Kim!! I am going to try it! Thank you for the awesome ideas!!
I make Baileys alot, but we substitute Rum for the Irish Whiskey. Yummy!!
So is this “ready to drink” as it is ince prepared or would you mix it with something???
@chrissy, you can drink this straight (I did in college) but normally it’s mixed with other things. This site give a ton of drinks you can make with it: http://www.drinksmixer.com/desc191.html Most common though are putting it into black coffee and an Irish Car Bomb
-Stefanie
2ndChanceCreations.etsy.com
Would this mixture be OK if I use fat free/low fat/sugar free products?
Sounds awesome! how long do you think the shelf life would be? And would it last longer if you actually canned it?
Thanks!
Carm – The shelf life would be about the same as the cream. I’d go by that expiration date. I don’t know if canning would work.
Could you substitute a flavoring or something non-alcoholic for the whiskey? Not a whiskey fan….
Southern Comfort is not an Irish Whiskey. Get Bailey’s Irish Cream or something else genuine. Many of us shudder at the thought of Southern Comfort.
I’m not following your logic, Connie. Why would someone use Bailey’s Irish Cream to make homemade Bailey’s Irish Cream? I agree that people who want a more authentic whiskey flavor should use real whiskey rather than a whiskey flavored liqueur. But many people dislike whiskey, so I’m glad to see there is a suggested alternative. Obviously, if you prefer whiskey, use it! Being able to personalize it to your taste is the beauty of making something yourself.
I just made this yesterday for Christmas presents and so far everyone’s loved it:) Thank You for sharing
I’m glad it was a hit, Jeannie! 🙂 Merry Christmas!
I’ve read other recipes same ingredients says it takes 2 months to before ready and you should put in airtight counter like a mason jar…so wondering where you would get cream that doesn’t expire for 2 months ?
@Michelle Dawe,
The shelf life means it goes bad after 2 months. You can drink this right away.
is it 1 and 3/4 cups or 3/4 cups of Irish whiskey?