Iced coffee is a truly summertime treat – cold, delicious, and easy to make. Be sure to use good brewed coffee. Serve for dessert or as an afternoon treat. Enjoy! Have a wonderful weekend!
Start with coffee ice cubes.
Pour in cold coffee.
Top with whipped cream, flavored if you like. Then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. If you are in the mood to really indulge, stir in some of the cream, then add some more! (Top photo.)
A special after-dinner coffee made with dark chocolate and chocolate vodka. Don’t forget to dip your strawberry in the whipped cream before drinking! Happy Valentine’s Day!
Valentines’ Mocha (serves 2)
1 c. fresh-brewed, good decaf coffee
1 oz. dark chocolate
1 oz. chocolate vodka
1 T. dark brown sugar
1/4 c. heavy cream
2 large, ripe strawberries (cleaned and stemmed)
cinnamon sugar
1. Place coffee, chocolate, vodka and dark brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally until chocolate and brown sugar are melted and blended into the coffee.
2. Meanwhile, whip cream until it holds soft peaks.
3. Pour coffee into two glass coffee mugs. Garnish mugs with strawberries. Top with whipped cream and cinnamon sugar. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Each month, I write a newsletter called The Morning Star Update. A semi-regular feature is book recommendations from our guests at the B&B. So I was pretty pleased with the theme for today’s prompt.
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss is a novel that I plan to read over the weekend. It was recommended to me by a delightful guest who has stayed with us a number of times; and I have enjoyed the other books that she suggested to me over the years. (Read a review of it from the NY Times.)
Wishing you a lovely weekend and a good book to read!
For more on the Daily Prompt …
The other morning, I had a guest on an almost vegan diet; so I made these delicious muffins which one would never know were free of dairy products and eggs. I hope that you enjoy the recipe!
Banana Mocha Coconut Muffins
3/4 c. sweetened shredded coconut
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. granulated white sugar
2 T. instant coffee or 2 t. espresso powder
1 T. baking powder
1 c. mashed ripe bananas
1 c. coconut milk
1/2 c. canola oil
1 T. coconut rum
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips, preferably miniature ( use vegan chocolate if needed)
1 recipe Coffee Coconut Milk Glaze (below)
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spread coconut on a baking sheet. Toast in oven for 3 to 4 minutes or until just starting to turn golden at the edges. Remove coconut from baking sheet and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, prepare 12 standard muffin cups or 10 four-ounce ramekins with baking spray.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, 2 T. of the instant coffee or 2 t. of the espresso powder, and baking powder. Set aside.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together bananas, coconut milk, canola oil, and rum. Stir banana mixture into dry ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips.
5. Divide batter into ramekins or muffin cups. Using the back of a spoon, shape each cup of batter into a slight mound. Bake 15 to 20 minutes for 12 muffins or 20 to 25 minutes for 10 muffins. Muffins are firm to the touch when done.
6. Meanwhile, prepare Coffee Coconut Milk Glaze. Glaze muffins immediately upon removing from oven and then sprinkle them with toasted coconut.
Coffee Coconut Milk Glaze
1 c. confectioner’s sugar
2 T. coconut milk
1/2 t. minced orange or lemon zest
1/2 t. instant coffee or 1/4 t. instant espresso powder
1/2 t. coconut rum, light rum, or orange or lemon extract
1. In a small bowl, slowly stir coconut milk into confectioner’s sugar. Stir in coffee, then zest, then rum or extract. Stir until smooth, then warm glaze to dissolve coffee.
When Veronica of Veronica’s Cornucopia blogged about coconut oil coffee, which she had read about on The Veggie Nook, I thought that it sounded quite strange. Nevertheless, her enthusiasm about this drink, made me curious; so I decided to try it. At first, I just wound up with an oily cup of coffee because I didn’t read the instructions and so neglected to put the ingredients in a blender. Once I whipped the coffee, though, it turned out perfectly.
I substituted turbinado sugar for stevia and added some shaved chocolate to the top. When I tasted it, I thought that it would make an excellent dessert coffee, especially with a splash of brandy. Being 8:30 in the morning, though, I decided to try that variation on another occasion. Nicole thought that amaretto would be a good addition and then one could have an Almond Joy Coffee (almond, coconut and chocolate).
While I was photographing the coffee, my husband came along and polished off my prop in about 3 “sips”. So that was the end of my photographs!
One note: since virgin coconut oil is rather expensive, I would save this coffee for special occasions.
Coconut Oil Coffee:
Whip the following together in a blender until frothy and serve topped with shaved chocolate.
1/2 c. hot coffee
2 T. virgin or extra-virgin coconut oil
2 t. turbinado sugar
Whipping the coffee cools it off somewhat. If desired, microwave the coffee afterward to make it hot again.
Enjoy!
A Taste of Morning 