Is it just me? Am I the only one who freezes in the wintertime, despite the temperature? Here in Alabama, we can easily have a 60 or 70 degree day in December but there is something about knowing it’s winter that just keeps me cold and the only remedy seems to be warm sweaters, fuzzy socks, and fresh brewed coffee. The rest of the year we tend to make 1-2 pots a day but this time of year, well let’s just say that our coffee maker earns our investment back and then some.
My current coffee stash- but one of the cans is empty so I need to stock up for holiday company!
I buy coffee in large 34 ounce cans (a little over 2 pounds), usually 5-6 at a time. Hey, I don’t want to run out! We have a pot that brews automatically (or auto-magically as they say in one of our favorite theme parks) at 4:00 AM and then I’ve been putting on another pot around 8:00 am. I try to brew another pot around 3 or so when the afternoon slump hits me (and I am reminded, once again, that it is cold outside), and sometimes another pot happens around 6 or 7 after supper. Fortunately for us, brewing a pot of coffee at home is still very economical. In fact, I estimate that I can brew pots all week long for about the price of one visit to a coffee shop. We used to hop around drinking different blends from different sources but about two years ago we tried Red Diamond Classic Blend and haven’t looked back. It’s simply the best coffee we’ve tasted, smooth, flavorful, never acidic and the perfect amount of body for us. Even our son says “The coffee at home just tastes so good.”
Needless to say, when company comes, we usually have fresh coffee waiting. So a friend helped me come up with this great idea of taking that coffee we have on hand and taking it up a notch to make a nice dessert or fun get together treat: coffee floats. They do this with hot chocolate and the moment we tried it we were convinced it was just ideal for coffee!
Start by pretty much filling up a coffee cup with ice cream scoops. Now, in reality you just want about two scoops in there and make sure you don’t pack it because we want plenty of room for coffee. On top of that, add about 2 tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk. However, keep in mind that no one is watching, judging, or measuring how much sweetened condensed milk you add so if that number gets doubled, tripled, if a tablespoon or two accidentally gets put into your mouth, etc, well, you just do you. We’re busy making our own.
On top of that add freshly brewed, hot coffee. As it does with all things, this magnificent brew will transform and give new life to the ice cream, melting it just so and blending with the sweetened condensed milk to form something that is best described as a sweet mocha java heaven.
Top with whipped cream for a finishing touch.
We don’t stir it but you can if you’d like. The more you drink, the sweeter and chocolatier it gets!
This is a perfect idea for a coffee bar and you can experiment with seasonal flavors of ice cream. Egg Nog ice cream, french vanilla, and even mint chocolate chip would be great options.
The beauty of it is that it’s also easy to make as a special treat for just one or two. I hope you get to try it soon!
Mocha Coffee Floats
Ingredients
- 12 ounce coffee cup
- 2 large scoops ice cream
- 3-4 tablespoons or more sweetened condensed
- 8 ounce good strong coffee (I use Red Diamond Classic Blend)
Instructions
- Place ice cream in cup. Pour sweetened condensed milk over. Pour coffee over all.
- Top with whipped topping.
- Enjoy! It gets sweeter as you continue to drink it.
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Special thanks to my friends at Red Diamond for sponsoring this post and for being such a special part of our lives. All opinions contained herein are my own and I hereby dedicate myself to drinking as many cups of coffee in the name of partnership and recipe research. To find Red Diamond products near you, visit their beautiful website and use the product locator in the top right hand side of the screen.
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