A Warm and Relaxing Beverage for Cold Nights
A favorite Christmas Eve drink, warm vanilla milk is a delightful beverage, perfect for any cool weather evening. In fact, this makes the perfect bedtime beverage to help excited children get to sleep on Christmas Eve.
If you have trouble sleeping, this recipe will likely help you too. Warm milk is a long standing cross cultural favorite for inducing sleep naturally. Add nutmeg and honey and it’s all the more relaxing.
While the science is not yet clear, we can speak from personal experience. Warm milk has served as a natural sleep remedy for many sleepless nights over the years.
Warm Vanilla Milk Recipe
Warm Vanilla Milk Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole milk milk OR see substitutions in notes
- 3/4 tsp organic vanilla extract
- 2 Tb raw honey or manuka or regular
- dash celtic sea salt or regular salt
- pinch ground cinnamon optional (See substitutes)
Instructions
- HEAT MILK – in a medium saucepan over medium low heat until desired temperature. (Or see alternative options below).
- CAREFUL not to bring milk to a boil or it will overflow the pan.
- ADD honey into milk in cup or mug
- WHISK in cinnamon (and/or other spice), OR stir with a cinnamon stick.
- SERVE immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
This warm vanilla milk “toddy” (sans alcohol, although a dash of brandy is an option!), can serve as an after dinner dessert beverage.
But if you want a treat to go with it, try this quick and easy cheese danish recipe, or pumpkin cheesecake bars.
Quick Tips
- STOVETOP: Heating the milk on stovetop: Heat milk and spices to just before boiling. BE CAREFUL NOT TO BOIL IT, the milk as it will froth to overflow and make a mess. Yes, speaking from experience, so you really have to watch it because it can overflow the pot in an instant if your turn your back on it!
- MILK FROTHER: We use a milk frother for my husband’s coffee mocha, so that’s also an option for a quick single serve at a time:
- Pour milk to the maximum level of your milk frother, (not above or it will likely overflow)
- Turn on heat and froth function to froth until done
- Pour into mug
- Add spices and honey
- Repeat for next cup if making more than one. (Do NOT put anything other than the milk in the frother unless it states that you can. We used to add coffee or cocoa to our previous milk and ended up ruining it by not knowing that it could only accommodate milk).
- MICROWAVE – FASTEST METHOD: Heat milk in microwave for approximately 1:40 minutes, (depending on your microwave),
- add spice and honey and serve
Warm Vanilla Milk for Sleep and Relaxation
Natural Sleep Remedy: Replace cinnamon with a pinch of nutmeg up to 1/4 tsp or more, if you enjoy a strong nutmeg flavor, but less for children, as nutmeg has narcotic properties, though is rarely served in high enough doses to be perceptible. In other words, you’d probably have to consume an amount that would make you sick first, however children are smaller and more sensitive, so best to use just a dash or pinch.
Use your imagination by adding variations to this theme, such as rum, brandy, or almond/amaretto flavoring, (or the actual liquor if you enjoy it). You can also fancy it up with a dash of whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon, nutmeg and/or chocolate powder at top, for more festive occasions or a treat.