Homemade Baileys Irish Cream Recipe (2024)

Do you like to enjoy a dash or more of Baileys Irish Cream in your coffee or holiday drinks and recipes?? Well, quit wasting so much money and learn how to make homemade Bailey's right from your own kitchen that is richy and creamy in flavor. Make a big stash and have some all winter (and all year) long.

The days of running to the liquor store to grab some Irish Cream are over. With this easy after dinner drink recipe, you can quickly and easily learn to make DIY Irish Cream for all your drink and co*cktail needs.

Making this Homemade Baileys Copycat recipe is so simple, you only need 6 ingredients and about 5 minutes of work before you can pour it over ice into your Mason Jar and grab a straw and start sipping. It's so easy, like silly easy!

We think it's silly to mention this, but obviously, this is a copycat recipe for Baileys Irish Cream, this isn't the actual recipe.

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Why You've Gotta Give It A Try

• Cheaper than buying storebought creamy baileys Irish Cream
• Tastier and easier to customize to dazzle your taste buds
• Always have Irish Cream on hand for sippin' or adding to your coffee
• Uses Ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen
• It's a sippable dessert in a jar
• Would make a good holiday gift for someone who loves Irish Cream

Ingredients

Many people have these common ingredients (maybe minues the Whiskey) in their kitchen already, but if you don't here's the list of what you need. Measurements and more information can be found in the recipe card below:

Irish Whiskey- we used Jameson

Half and Half Cream

Sweetened Condensed Milk

Cold Brew Coffee or Espresso Shots

Chocolate Sauce- we used Hershey’s

Pure Vanilla Extract

Tools Needed For This Easy co*cktail

Whisk to get things mixed up and mixed together

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Pitcher or Large Jar for Mixing and Serving in

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How To Make Homemade Bailey's

1. Add all ingredients to your large Mason Jar, co*cktail Shaker, or Pitcher and shake or stir.
2. Pour into your Mason Jar for sippin on ice cubes or add to your coffee or other drink and enjoy.

Variations and Substitutions

Making this recipe on the fly and don't have time to run to the store?? Well, try any of these recipe variations and substitutions to help you make your DIY Irish Cream for all the best Baileys drinks, Irish cream drinks, and delicious co*cktails.

Swap alcohol- Not a Jameson fan, try any other Whiskey, or really change it up and go for Bourbon, Brandy. or Cinnamon Fireball Whiskey.

Trade the chocolate sauce- trade it out for another brand of chocolate sauce- or maybe even your own homemade sauce!

Try Kahlua- instead of adding hot coffee and chocolate sauce for a delicious creamy co*cktail.

Try adding Butterscotch Schnapps- for another fun variation add a dash of this to your Baileys recipe.

Swap extracts- if you're making this around other holidays, you can swap the extracts for something a little more festive, maybe peppermint extract, orange extract or a maple syrup extract. Trying any of these will give it a unique flavor.

Swap out half and half cream- trade this out for whatever cream-based product you have on hand. Although, we don't recommend using plain milk as it's just not creamy enough. We've had readers share that using flavored coffee creamer, like sugar cookie coffee creamer was a delicious change. You can also try heavy cream or coconut milk too.

Drizzle sauces- You can drizzle fun sauces and syrups in your Mason Jar or if you're using another glass like a chilled martini glass, old fashioned glass, rocks glass, etc you can dip the rims of those glasses in things like dark chocolate syrup, butterscotch or caramel syrup or caramel sauce to add a fun touch.

Add toppings- Like creamy drinks? Try adding whipped cream for an even creamier flavor! We also like using chocolate shavings, chocolate sprinkles and chocolate flakes.

What other changes are you thinking of making? Share them in the comments below and let us know what you think. We love hearing how people take our recipes and add a twist on them to create something just as amazing!

Tips and Tricks

• While we don't recommend using a blender because it can curdle things, if you have to use one, use a low power setting on your blender or mixer. Using anything too powerful will make the cream start to curdle and ruin your creation. If this happens you can strain out the curdles and use what's leftover.
• If you like more of a richer and even creamier taste, try regular cream instead of half and half.
• This is great to sip on and enjoy around St. Patrick's Day, but is also good in many holiday baking dishes, co*cktails, frosting recipes and more.
• Make sure to use sweeteend condensed milk, not evaporated milk. While they look simliar they are very different.
• Add a dash of this to make fun Baileys co*cktails- like adult spiked Hot Chocolate, or add it to your Irish Coffee for a treat.

What Alcohol Makes Bailey's?

Baileys is made with cream, cocoa, a few other ingredients, and an Irish Whiskey. Usually do it yourself Baileys recipes will contain an Irish Whiskey like Jameson.

Does Homemade Baileys Go Bad?

So, what you're really asking is How Long is DIY homemade Bailey's Good For? Great question, because this will let you know how fast or slow you have to consume this deliciousness in a jar.

We recommend storing this homemade Irish Cream Bailey's Copycat recipe in Mason Jar, in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.

We tend to make this around the holidays and for parties and it doesn't last for 10 days for us 😉 it's that YUMMY!

How Can You Tell If It's Good or Bad?

Well, take a quick sniff and give it a good look. If it looks like it's curdling or has a clumpy texture, toss it. If it's changed a lot in color, trash it.

If you take a whiff and it smells sour, spoiled or funky, get rid of it.

Sometimes you do need to give it a good shake to check it all out, so be sure to shake or stir it up before using.

Is There Milk in Baileys?

Actual Bailey's is made with milk and milk products. For our homemade baileys copycat version, we use half and half and sweetened condensed milk. So, if you're lactose intolerant or wanting a dairy free recipe, I'd check out using something else like refrigerated unsweetened almond milk or something similar that fits your dietary preferences and needs.

Other Recipes To Sip On

• Homemade Christmas or Holiday Sangria - Fruity, red sangria with holiday flavors that really come to light in this homemade Sangria recipe.
• Apple Cider Sangria- This recipe has made its round on Pinterest and has become a huge hit.
• Winter Mocktail- Fun non-alcoholic drink to sip on all winter season.
• Snowman Hot Chocolate Bombs - made from our homemade hot chocolate mix, this is definitely kid friendly and a favorite of adults as well.
• Cranberry Bourbon Slushie- A delicious holiday season cranberry drink and a fun way to use up extra cranberries.
• Homemade Egg Nog- creamy and delicious drink, but having this homemade recipe doesn't mean it has to be a seasonal drink.
• Easy No Bake Low Carb Cheesecake- The perfect no bake dessert cheesecake to enjoy without having to slave over the oven.
• Gingerbread White Russian co*cktail- a fun way to curb your sweet tooth with this unique twist on a classic co*cktail recipe.

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