Yet another item for the Christmas Eve feast. Originally we bought horchata from a local Mexican grocery store, and we’ve occasionally made it with store-bought rice milk, but this year I’m trying a recipe from scratch. Much cheaper (and arguably more authentic) this way.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup long-grain white rice
  • 1/4 cup raw almonds
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 7 cups water, divided
  • ground cinnamon, for garnish (optional)

Directions

  1. In a blender, combine rice, almonds, and cinnamon stick, sugar, vanilla, and 4 cups of water. Blend until rice and almonds are coarsely ground. Add remaining water and blend to combine.
  2. Refrigerate mixture overnight.
  3. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth into a large pitcher. Discard solids.
  4. Serve over ice, garnished with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon, if desired.