Growing up, my older sister loved Cool Whip and because of her that is what we always had in the house. I guess I never complained because as a kid I probably liked it and didn’t know that homemade whipped cream was so much better. I don’t recall anyone in my family ever making homemade whipped cream, even for holiday desserts.

As I moved into adulthood, I quickly learned what good whipped cream was all about. I remember I had my first homemade whipped cream on a hot chocolate and wondered why the hell would anyone eat anything else. The store-bought stuff just didn’t compare.

The below homemade whipped cream recipe requires only three ingredients: heavy whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla extract. Most of us have sugar and potentially vanilla extract somewhere in the kitchen. All that you may need is the whipping cream or heavy cream which is readily available at most grocery stores. You cannot use milk or half & half because they do not contain enough fat for it to whip properly.

A few notes before we get to the recipe. You should chill both the bowl and the beaters that you are using to make the whipped cream. The cream should also be at least refrigerator cold and not left at room temperature for too long. This will help the cream to whip up faster.

You will want to work the whipped cream into soft peaks. It is possible to over-whip the cream, which creates a sort of strange, thick texture. You can save an over-whipped whipped cream by folding in about a tablespoon of the original liquid cream back into the whipped cream. See the video below.

The recipe uses 1-1/2 tablespoons of sugar. If you are not big on sweet whipped cream, you can reduce it to a tablespoon per one cup of cream. Use two tablespoons of sugar or more, if desired, for a sweeter whipped cream. I like to start with a little sugar while beating the whipping cream and then add more, as needed, as I taste it.

This whipped cream is Okay to store in the refrigerator for later use. You may need to give it a good whip with a whisk before reserving it to reestablish its whipped texture. Enjoy!