Coconut Milk is Our New Best Friend

I don't know where I have been but I have just discovered coconut milk as a dairy-free alternative. I've used it in recipes before for Thai dishes but it never occurred to me to try it instead of rice milk until I bought coconut milk ice-cream that was unbelievably creamy & delicious. (It was a bit pricey but worth it - coming to the reviews section soon)

Anyhoozer, I have used it in place of milk for baking and it works really well as opposed to rice milk - I think because of it's fat content. You may want to remove the top creamy layer from an opened can of coconut milk if you want to reduce the fat content. We made delicious cherry-coconut chocolate chip cookies that everyone gobbled up, including my picky sister (recipe coming soon).

You can make amazing whipped coconut cream that resembles whip cream - it does have a "coconutty" flavor so it wouldn't work for you if you don't like coconut but the flavor is light enough to not compete with the other flavors in your dish.

We have made our own coconut ice cream after getting an ice cream machine as a gift (those hints finally paid off!) and it was really fun experimenting with the kids. A word of caution - you only need a tiny capful of peppermint oil for 2 quarts of ice cream - and that is if you enjoy a strong mint flavor. The kids ate up the chocolate chip mint ice cream we made regardless of the fact that it nearly made my eyes water!

I am now using it in my quest for creating the perfect pancake. I'll let you know how that turns out - I am halfway there!


There are many brands to choose from but if you have 30 minutes and are in the creative mood, you can make your own coconut milk by following this simple recipe or this detailed Brazilian recipe. Let me know how it turns out and if you think it is cost effective!


Has anyone tried using coconut oil in place of shortening/butter? Which brand do you prefer?

I've used coconut oil once so far in a gingerbread recipe I found on the web (I'll share it as soon as I find my bookmark for it). It is interesting to work with as it is solid at room temperature but melts as soon as you touch it because of your body temperature.


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