Homemade Italian cream soda

I love a yummy soda every now and then, but I'm not a fan of the High Fructose Corn Syrup used in most products. Or as they cleverly label it now "Natural flavors." A friend of mine taught me how to make your own cream soda, and I'm going to share this little golden nugget with you! Because it seems much fancier than popping open a can :)

Add a few pieces of ice, and about 8 oz. of club soda to a tall glass. Club soda and sparkling water are nearly the same taste, either one can be used.

And because I'm all about making my own of things, I made my own vanilla syrup. To do that, it is 3 cups of sugar, 3 cups of water, and 2 vanilla beans split open. Simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Then I scraped out the vanilla bean to add more of that good flavor to the syrup, and let it all sit until the syrup cooled. You could strain it through a cheese cloth, but I kind of like the specks of vanilla.

Add 2 oz of that to the soda water. More if you like a super sweet cream soda, I prefer a lighter flavor, I'm not a hummingbird ;)

Last, add a splash of half & half. This is what makes it italian, using milk. Heavy whipping cream can be used too, gives it a thicker, rich taste.

You'll want to stir it up before you drink, but doesn't it look so pretty and impressive? World Market sells syrup flavors like orange, and blackberry. I may experiment making one of those flavors in my kitchen next. This has been a big hit with my family, my kids thought I was so cool to make an IBC favorite at home. Hope you enjoy!

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