Homemade Horchata {dairy-free}

I've always been such a sucker for good horchata. And despite the fact that I'm now the proud owner of an Irish last name, my middle name's still Montes, and I'm still 1/2 hispanic. Also cinco de mayo is like really soon. 

I love the fact that horchata is naturally dairy-free. It's the perfect combination of creamy and refreshing; definitely a treat. And until yesterday I had never made my own. I did a bit of research and found 1. it's super simple. 2. basically all of the recipes call for the same ingredients, just varying in their proportions 3. it's shockingly similar to homemade almond milk, though much more flavorful. 

Basically you soak almonds, rice, water and a cinnamon stick overnight, blend them all up the next morning (yes, cinnamon stick and all. I was skeptical too), pour the mixture through a cheese cloth, add water, sweeten, and wah lah! The result is much creamier and much more decadent than what you would get in a restaurant. 

Homemade Horchata {dairy-free} 
Makes 4.5 cups 

2/3 cup uncooked long grain brown rice (see notes), washed 
1 1/4 cup almonds, blanched 
4 1/2 cups water, divided 
3" cinnamon stick 
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon agave, or sweetener of your choice
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional) 
cinnamon for garnish

If you are unable to find blanched almonds (skins removed), boil a medium pot of water and toss your almonds in for about 1 minute. Transfer the almonds to a bowl of cold water and pop off the skins. Note - this is actually the most time-consuming part of the whole recipe. 

Place rice, blanched almonds, 2 1/2 cups hot water, and the cinnamon stick in a medium bowl. Cover, and let sit over night or up to 12 hours. Pour the ingredients into a high powered blender and blend until completely smooth (yes cinnamon stick and all). Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer/cheese cloth/milk bag (I used a milk bag) and discard the pulp. 

Pour the liquid back into your blender, add two cups of cold water, vanilla, and agave. I recommend starting with about 1/4 cup agave then adding more one tablespoon at a time if desired. I found 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon was enough for me but if you're used to the super sweet restaurant style you could add up to a cup. 

Serve over ice with a generous dusting of cinnamon. 

Notes: 

• I used long grain brown rice but you could use any type of white or brown long grain rice. What exactly is long grain rice? I had the same question. Examples include basmati, carolina, jasmine, or texmati. The Kitchn has a great article discussing a taste test they did using different types of rice. They concluded that brown rice provided a more nutty flavor, while the white tastes more authentic but a bit chalky. Feel free to try whatever you have on hand. 
  
  
• I couldn't decide whether I liked the horchata with or without the vanilla extract, so it's totally optional. 
  
  
• You could definitely sweeten with maple syrup or honey instead of agave. I even considered coconut sugar. If you wanted to, you could use regular sugar, though I'd probably recommend incorporating it into a simple syrup with some of the water.  
  
  
• I want to find a way to re-use the leftover almond/rice/cinnamon mixture. I'm thinking bread pudding of some sort? Has anyone ever done anything like this?