Lately, this drink has been my favorite breakfast. It’s warm, filling and nourishing. As I drink this, I always feel like someone just handed me a delicious mug of comfort. Mmmmm Warm Vanilla Soother.
Warm Vanilla Soother
- 3 cups whole milk
- 4 egg yolks
- ⅓ cup real maple syrup
- 2 Tablespoons arrowroot powder or corn starch
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a medium saucepan, whisk together milk, egg yolks, maple syrup and arrowroot powder.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly (I use a whisk) until mixture begins to thicken.
- Remove from heat and add butter and vanilla.
- Stir until creamy.
- Pour into mugs and serve warm.
Sprinkle a little nutmeg on top or add a dollop of whipped cream for an extra special touch!
Ever since I bought a gallon of vodka started my big batch of homemade vanilla, I’ve been experimenting with new ways to use vanilla extract. Yum, homemade vanilla is so good! (You’ll find more great recipes like this one in our What to Do With the Vanilla in Your Kitchen ebook.)
This Warm Vanilla Soother was the beginning of several other comfort food drinks that were born in my kitchen. Chocolate, chocolate mint, pumpkin – they are all so comforting and yummy! They are the perfect way to warm up on a chilly day – perfect for breakfast because they are nourishing and filling. If you chill the leftovers, it turns into pudding – also delicious!
Here are the other recipes you’ll want to try:
If you have any other flavor ideas for this comforting drink, I’d love to hear them. I’m always up for experimenting in the kitchen – especially when I can take a basic recipe and tweak it to a slightly different variation of something we already love!
Mmmmm… I’ll be over for breakfast in the morning with an empty Christmas mug… okay? ;)
~Kristy
Can they be GLUTEN-FREE vanilla wafers? Since gluten/wheat are VERY inflammatory and cause major health issues, we have quit wheat (since reading life-changing book WHEAT BELLY) and what a difference! I haven’t felt this good in years. They say it takes your body seven years to rid itself of the sludge of inflammatory build-up in the colon from wheat. I can’t believe that my stomach is gone and I am eating anything I want except wheat.
So I would love to learn how to do anything wheat-free if you have thoughts on that!
Love the vanilla soother!
How many vanilla beans do you use in a gallon of Vodka? I just got my vanilla bean order and need to make another batch of vanilla. I’ve always made it by the liter
You can read all about how I made vanilla here: https://heavenlyhomemakers.com/making-homemade-vanilla-extract-aka-why-laura-bought-a-gallon-of-vodka :)
oh, I vote for vanilla wafers!!
Homemade vanilla wafers please.
mmmm, makes me hungry for some warm eggnog =) Homemade is the best!
Oh this sounds yummy!
Mmmmm…wafers. Thanks for sharing! This looks like fun. Now I just have to go get some maple syrup…Maybe I’ll put it on my Christmas wishlist :D
Homemade vanilla wafers.
vanilla wafers, definately! i have so many recipes i want to make of mine that call for vanilla wafers, and i refuse to buy them now since they are unhealthy!
Vanilla wafers please! They would make a perfect snack beside the warm vanilla smoother.
Wafers, for sure! And, I made the vanilla as gifts, so I hope you are able to get the cards ready. I’m looking forward to them!
Oooh, my! This sounds like a great warm drink to try! :D
Woohoo! Another recipe that my gluten free family can try! And, I vote for vanilla wafers. I will try to modify them for my kids! Thanks!
I’m guessing it would just change the thickness, but I only use skim milk. Would that drastically change the result?
I’m sure it would work with skim…just may not taste as rich!
Count me as another vote for the vanilla wafers!
Also, thank you so much for posting this recipe. We are fairly certain that my 3yo is allergic to chocolate, so the normal hot chocolate to warm you up this winter is out. Now I have an option for him!
Homemade vanilla wafers sound wonderful!
Homemade vanilla wafers!
Vanilla wafers
Recipe cards! Ooooooooooooo! I started some vanilla back in June and am giving it to everyone for Christmas gifts. I’d love to get a copy of those recipe cards…any chance they’ll be out soon??? I actually have to give away most of them next Friday to my friends because we are going out of state after that. Would you be willing to share what you have put together so far????
:) pretty please:):)
Oh, so glad to see this recipe! :) I have been craving a rich creamy eggnog, but all the ones in the store just have such terrible ingredients I can’t get myself to buy it. Is this supposed to be similar to eggnog? I guess I will have to try it and find out! :)
Thanks for this! I served this last night to my guests and all 6 of them raved on and on about it! It is amazing. I used half the amount of maple syrup and a little stevia to cut down on the sugar content. It still tasted fabulous!
This is pretty good, or at least my adaptation of it was. ;O) I subbed raw honey for the syrup since we don’t have any, and added a drop of molasses to it for extra flavor. Then I accidentally got too much cornstarch, so I’m eating mine with a spoon. LOL. It’s good though.
I saw the title to this post and said, “Oh, YES!” I’ve been hoping you would post this recipe ever since I saw it on your menu plan a while back! And I just bought my first little jar of REAL vanilla last week! Hooray and Thank You!
I made this this morning with unsweetened almond milk and with whole milk. My family liked the almond milk better. It was YUMMY!
i made this tonight. sooooooo gooooood!
How many servings does this make? Sounds yummy!
This serves six (or four or eight) depending on how much people like it! At my house, it serves four. :)
Oh my goodness, that was even better than I expected! And gluten-free woo-hoo! So good, I actually woke up my husband to try it while it was warm when he was trying to sleep in. He may not have appreciated it, but it’s been so long since I’ve had anything like this. Thanks Laura!
Oh Wow this looks so good (I can’t have the whole thing, but since I’m going to try to stick to only/mostly egg whites I now have something to do with the yolks ie: give this to my girl friend as we both learn to cook and “accidentally” drink it all up on her when she is not looking ^__^). I really have to thank you for all the recipes on this site. I just discovered it today, but its helping me to find ways of eating better and giving me an alternative to restaurants. I really want to try many of the recipes you have on here and many of them seem like they can be college student friendly (budget wise and possible storage wise).
Anyway, I might be showing my naiveness about the kitchen, but what does “T.” mean in the ingredients list (“2 T. arrowroot powder or corn starch”)? I want to say Tablespoon (only because you used a capital T in Tablespoon and a lower case t in teaspoon), but that is just a guess.
Thank You
-Matthew
Yes, T. is for Tablespoon. Sorry about that…you aren’t the first person to ask that about one of my recipes. I try to remember to type out the whole word, but sometimes (like this one) I forget. :)
Thank You
Since you’re a dude we’ll let it go this time. Capital T is always Tablespoon and lowercase t is always teaspoon. Grandmas dont usually teach their grandsons that so we’ll lst it slide.
lol. Thank You. I think I’m the only guy/dude so far.
But I might need need things to slide it the future too.
Well I’m into Pure mathematics, theoretical Physics, and
Philosophy (ie: I’m useless, and since cooking is useful
naturally I have trouble), so I think that is one extra
slide. I am also very absent minded, which is like 100
more slides. So I think I can slide 101 more times
(Please I know I will need them)?
Also I vote for Vanilla Wafers ^__^
Also I would like to write in some votes/ideas (please be aware
that I have enjoyed vanilla ice cream with chocolate and walnuts
on a salami sandwich, so my tastes are not normal but might be
tasty, at least I’ll try them).
-Vanilla and Honey/sugar imitation salami ( imitation salami site http://www.helium.com/items/1365077-how-to-make-home-made-salami)
-Actually Any meat dish flavored with vanilla and a sweetener (as a guy, I can certainly say that sweetened meat dishes are like the ultimate deserts, to guys at least. like a vanilla flavored hamburger would be AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
-Vanilla enhanced and then sweetened breads and cheeses (with cinnamon swirls)
-A white clam sauce with vanilla (okay I admit thats a little weird, but it’s different)
-Vanilla everything!!!!!!
-A Sweet Vanilla sauce for either steamed or raw or other method of cooking (Any way that can make vegetables tasty to people who have a sweet tooth, but is still healthy)
-A sweet vanilla flavored vegetable casserole (okay that is a little weird too)
-Vanilla BBQ Sauce / Vanilla and chocolate BBQ combined with ranch sauce
-I like fat free ranch dressing mixed with a light raspberry-walnut vinaigrette, so how about a vanilla-ranch-raspberry-walnut vinaigrette with a hint of chocolate and hazelnut
-Vanilla Mac and Cheese or vanilla mac&cheese with vanilla ice cream
-Vanilla Guacamole (okay that might sound strange too)
-A vanilla “Au Ju” sauce
-Vanilla Peanut Butter
… Okay I’ll stop having ideas now (but I still want to try all of them)
My vote is for the Vanilla Wafers
Thank You
Is this heated enough for salmonella to not be a risk? I’m a little raw-egg paranoid. lol
The mixture doesn’t thicken until it’s almost boiling, so I think you’ll be okay!! :)
I am on the verge of making some maple syrup…found a recipe on allrecipes.com. Yay! Now I can make warm vanilla soother!
Laura, I just had to come back and tell you again how much I love this (now that I make it right)! Thanks for posting the recipe!
I was just staring at my huge box of “nilla wafers” as one of our last vices… noticing it had both high fructose corn syrup AND partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil…. needless to say, I was wondering if you had a recipe for real nilla wafers…, so that’s my vote…. VANILLA WAFERS!
Wafers!!! & I am sooo making this tonight!
Do you think you could use honey instead of maple syrup? I know it would give it a pretty different flavor. I just don’t have any maple syrup on hand.
Yes, I think that would work just fine!
Hi,
Laura, I just want to thank you for putting out such wonderful recipes. Everything I’ve tried has been a hit with my family. Your meal ideas and the way you make good eating so easy have inspired me. I also really enjoy reading your blog.
Your way with food is a gift from God. Thank you for sharing it with all of us!
Blessings on you and your family this new year!
Love,
Susie in Fort Worth, TX
Please add vanilla wafers. This is a favorite cookie of mine and I would just LOVE to make my own and in a bigger size too.
I just had to write you as I’m again cooking up this special treat – this recipe is yum yum yummy! I make it every couple of weeks as a special treat for my three year old daughter!
I love your site and your recipes!
It would be really helpful if you included the amount yielded with each of your recipes!
Yes, I am terrible about remembering to do this! I will TRY to remember…and if I can (ever in my spare time) I will go back and edit posts to add this information!
I made this for breakfast before, but today I changed it up a little bit. I added some pumpkin puree and some pumpkin pie spice. It was like drinking a pumpkin pie for breakfast, the kids and I loved it!!
OK i know this recipe has been up for a while, but I’m just looking at it now :) Where does the butter come in? You have instructions for everything except the butter.
Whoops, looks like I just missed it…read too fast. LOL. I’ll have to try this once I get more “good” (pastured) eggs!
How about a great recipe for a healthy fruit dip using homemade vanilla. Would be a great addition to the summer fresh fruit out of the garden.
There are a couple recipes that sound like what you’re describing in this ebook: https://heavenlyhomemakers.com/what-to-do-with-the-vanilla-in-your-kitchen
just tried this tonight after putting lights on the tree. my girls (4 and 3) lapped it up like little kittens. will be making again… probably with chocolate. thanks for the recipe.
I know this is a way old post, but after you reposted it recently, and then again with the mint extract today, I thought I would go ahead and ask. I made this maybe 2 weeks ago and we didn’t like it. Now, I don’t use pure ingredients like sucunat (sp?) or arrowroot powder, so I did the best I could. I realized that it was almost sounding like it could be eggnog, but I guess we are used to the very sweet eggnog on the grocery store shelf. My question is: should I try it again and be more particular with each step? I try to stay to exact directions, but I often get impatient. I did separate the egg whites and egg yolks though (I don’t that when I make waffles like they say to do in the cookbook I have.) Any tips, ladies? Has anyone made this and NOT liked it the first time around? Thanks!
I am so glad I tried both the chocolate soother, and vanilla soother! They are AWESOME!!!! my whole family loved it! Thank you so much for such a great recipe, and healthy too! I used almond milk instead of whole milk because I am nursing and my baby is sensitive to it, and it worked just as good as the whole milk I made for the rest of my family. For my husband it was sweet enough, and for me I would cut down on the sugar maybe half, and next time I will try stevia for half of it maybe. SO GOOOOOD!
I made this for our snack this morning and it was super-tasty! I love dairy products, but my son is allergic, so I made this with unsweetened almond milk and used coconut oil instead of butter. A tip for making this taste better with non-dairy milks: add a little extra fat (coconut oil, in my case.) The added fat helps make it more rich and less “thin.” I also added a pinch of salt to mine.
I love your vanilla and chocolate soothers equally. However, the chocolate one keeps me awake at night. :-( I guess I’m sensitive to the caffeine in the cocoa.
I like to make the vanilla soother with cinnamon. It smells like french toast to me! Thanks for this delicious recipe!
Naturally it is 50 degrees here in WI in the middle of August, so I am making this for breakfast at my kids request. Now I am staring at a bowl full of egg whites and faced with angel food cake (don’t want to), macaroons (not a favorite), or once again, the season of mom eating a ton of mostly egg white omelets. Any suggestions?
Coconut macaroons! https://heavenlyhomemakers.com/healthy-treat-for-today-coconut-macaroons
I finally, FINALLY got around to making this, and my very first thought was that it tastes like crepe batter! I am constantly sneaking spoonfuls of crepe batter, so I’m thrilled to have a more acceptable way to drink so much of it. :)
One tip, for anyone reading this: Your vanilla quality matters. I have cheap vanilla and I can taste the cheapness. Definitely going to search for some good stuff to fill in while I consider making my own. :)
Thank you Laura!
So it is ok to drink this? I am worried about salmonella. It sounds wonderful.
Yep, the eggs are cooked so there is no need to worry!
I made this tonight and failed to see it was just the yolk and not the whole egg! Oops! None the less it was super delicious! To me it tasted like warm vanilla homemade pudding.
I’ve wondered about that every time I’ve made it! Have you made it with just the yolk since? How did they compare?
Thanks so much for all you do and for the recipies :). I made this on Friday, but it didn’t turn out right. it tasted like eggs what did I do wrong? :(
I’m guessing you might just want to try adding a little more maple syrup to sweeten it a bit more. :)
Any ideas on how to make this dairy free?
I’d try coconut milk. :)
I just made this with almond milk and Earth Balance buttery spread, and it was so yummy!
We had this today for breakfast. The kids asked me to make it more often!
Only wish I would have remembered this recipe a couple days ago. We made gingerbread houses (graham cracker ones) with royal icing to hold them together which is made from egg whites, cream of tartar and powdered sugar. I saved the yolks for breakfast the next morning but while we were making the houses, listening to Christmas music we were drinking eggnog from the store (boo, I know but been busy LOL). This drink would have been perfect! So we had it this morning :)
Homemade vanilla wafers!!!!! Pretty please!!!
Sorry. I’m a recovering vanilla wafer addict.
This is almost the same as your pudding recipe….so similar to drinking warm pudding. Can’t wait til cooler weather to see what the kids think of this.
Just had to tell you, Laura, that last night I made this and took a sip and thought this is disgusting! What in the world is the fuss all about?!? This morning I went to make muffins and pulled out my cream of tarter…..I used it last night thinking it was arrowroot! So, I will give your warm vanilla soother another try! :o)
I want to make this with pumpkin spices and maybe some canned pumpkin. AND, maybe cold mixed with ice cream instead of milk – just maybe. This is a keeper recipe. Thanks Laura!!
Recipe for Homemade Vanilla Wafers Please!
I’ve made this three times in the last three days! My two-year old can’t get enough, and my husband keeps saying, “Can you make that vanilla drink again?”
One question, though: what do you do with the egg whites? I made scrambled eggs and threw them in, but I don’t have any other ideas, and I’m way too frugal (cheap) to just throw them away.
Also, please let us know if you figure out how to work spinach into this one because I’m totally on board. ;)
You could make meringues with the egg whites! It wouldn’t be healthy…but it would be yummy! :) Another option would be to make a quiche. Adding spinach to that would be delicious. You can also freeze them until you are ready to use the leftovers.
What is arrowroot powder? Is there a substitute?
It’s a thickening agent. I’d use organic corn starch instead. :)
Can this safely go into the fridge for a few days? I am a singleton and it looks like the recipe wouldn’t havle that easily, and it would be nice to have a couple of days worth in the fridge for snacks (I’m diabetic and this would be a great snack subbing the maple syrup for stevia and maple flavoring). Thanks, jackie
Oh yes, this stores in the fridge just fine!
Hi Laura,
I make my own vanilla by the gallon, too! Love it!
What do you do with your used vanilla beans once a bottle is emptied? There must be some great way to get more out of those beautiful vanilla beans???
L.O.V.E. all that I keep learning from you–and your Heart, too! :)
I actually make a second batch now with used beans, using twice the beans for half the vodka. Works great!
My mom has used several of your recipes. She sent me this one this morning. Colds are going around my house, and nobody wanted to eat. This was warm and soothing, and provided my littles with some great nutrition without having to wrestle with them. (My two-year-old took his with a little homemade strawberry syrup. The one-year-old just smacked it up as it was.)
Thank you! We will be saving for later!!!
I just wanted to share with you. I have not made your smoother drink but I intend to try it. But I love plain hot milk so I decided to try your Hot Vanilla Milk and it is one of my favs. A little maple syrup and some vanilla to hot milk is so yummy and comforting. I have added the maple syrup and vanilla to hot apple cider with a cinnamon stick and it is very delicious also. Thank you for your ideas.
Finally tried this after my friend raving about it for years – super yummy and even my picky one liked it. Vanilla Soother for the win!
Entire family loves this!
I’m so glad you all are enjoying it! This is the perfect time of year for a Vanilla Soother.
-Bethany (Laura’s assistant)