Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Iced Coffee {For The Southern Pregnant Mama}

I acquired a new habit when we stayed with our friends in July. Delicious and refreshing iced coffee. 

According to what I had read, you have to make iced coffee by letting coffee grounds seep overnight--you never actually brew the coffee. But Mike made iced coffee from their morning coffee leftovers, and it was lovely. And now? It's a daily routine at our house.

Ah yes, the beginnings.

If you like your iced coffee super strong, then this recipe is not for you. No, this recipe is perfect for the Southern (pregnant) mama who can't have too much caffeine. It fulfills my longing for coffee without making me all jittery and crazy. Because my iced coffee is made with a 1:4 or 1:3 coffee to milk ratio.

First things first, pour your strongly brewed coffee into glass containers, leaving 2/3 to 3/4 of the space remaining. Then add the desired amount of sugar. I like my coffee sweet, so I add around 2 1/2 TBSP of sugar per 6 cups (that's how much my recycled Mott's jar holds).

Add the half and half

Next, add some half and half. Do forgive the fact that I did not take time to clear my counters before taking any of these pictures. And please note the right hand corner where you can see evidence that there was a little boy trying to "help" me make the coffee. ::wink::

Add the milk, then vanilla

Then, top your jars off with milk! I know, I was skeptical of adding so much milk, too--but it really tastes great! I used 1% here, but whole is (always) divine. If I use whole milk sometimes I'll leave out the half and half. Add a bit of vanilla (I add around 2 tsp, I'm guessing), and you're ready to go!

The joyful end

Especially if you have chocolate chip cookies on hand...

Iced Coffee
Makes 6 cups

2 cups strongly brewed coffee
Sugar to taste 
Half and Half to taste (optional)
4  cups milk
2 tsp (or more) vanilla extract

Brew 2 cups of strong coffee (careful not to let it sit too long and get a burnt taste). Pour into desired container and add sugar to taste. Place lid and shake to dissolve sugar. Next, add half and half. Then fill the remainder of the container with the milk. Lastly, add the vanilla extract. Store in the refrigerator.



Linked to Works For Me Wednesday and Tasty Tuesday.
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9 comments:

  1. Oh yummy! I love coffee, but especially iced coffee on hot days.

    And I love the mason jars as drinking glasses. ;)

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  2. You must be in my head this week. I've driven by starbucks twice and wished for an iced coffee, but there are no drive-thrus and the boys aren't usually up for waiting in a long line. I LOVE this recipe and think I'm going to make some today!!

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  3. This looks much more managable than the recipes I've seen and I love that it's less caffeinated too! Thanks for sharing and enjoy your coffee cookie treat!

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  4. Thank so much...I have some Half n Half that needs used...perfect way to enjoy some coffee, too! :-)

    ~eunice b
    tigergal01 @gmail .com

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  5. I always "brew" mine in the fridge over night. Your recipe sounds great though. I got mine from Pie Birds, Buttons and Mud Pies . You don't have to add all the vanilla and extra sugar if you use coffee mate flavored creamers. Plus you can decide if you want French Vanilla or Mocha or pretty much whatever you want.

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  6. oh yummmm...
    I've been drinking lots of iced coffee up here (in southern Ontario) but I haven't tried making my own yet.
    I've got some flavoured sweeteners from Splenda, so I'm going to try using them instead of sugar. Thanks for the recipe! (and as a fellow preggo mommy, I hope you are having a better time staying cool this summer than I am!)

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  7. I've been feeling the "need" for some caffeine some days lately, but don't want very much... and I'm not a coffee drinker, but I may try a small batch of this and see what I think :) It at least LOOKS delicious! I wonder if I could stir in some chocolate syrup... I like mocha frappuccinos :)

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  8. Thank you for this recipe! Now that I am pregnant again, I need something like this to get my iced coffee fix at home (cheaper and a bit healthier). :)

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  9. Ok, I have to comment and say THANK YOU for helping me find a way to get a little caffeine without having to drink coffee or soda. I dug the coffee pot out this morning (I was sure needing some, but I DON'T like coffee) and brewed up 4 cups. Then I stirred in 4 packets of Swiss Miss (I have a lot of that stuff from a previous stock-pile) and 2 tsp. vanilla. Then I chilled that in the frige and when it was cold, poured some into a glass and topped it off with milk, probably a 1:2 ratio? I might do some tweaking on the next batch (I'll have to think about it as I taste it some more :) ), but this was quite good!!

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