Heavenly Iced Coffee!

I don't know about you, but when the warm spring and summer days hit, nothing tastes better to me than a delicious, creamy iced coffee! When you make it at home it just doesn't taste the same as when you get one from your favorite coffee shop. This recipe will teach you how to make one that tastes just like the one you get from the coffee shop with way less fat and sugar and for a fraction of the price! Plus, once you make the coffee base, it keeps in your fridge for a month, so you can enjoy iced coffees for weeks before having to make another batch. :)

This recipe uses the cold brew method of brewing coffee which takes a long time, but avoids the bitterness of hot brewing coffee, so its well worth it. Start making these the evening before you want to enjoy.

I found  this recipe/ method on Craving Comfort with the Homesteading Housewife. If you have a chance, head over there for some lovely photos and some great recipes.

You can make this recipe in smaller or larger batches depending on your coffee consumption rate!! The ratio is 1 oz coffee beans to 1 cup of cold water.

Creamy & Sweet Iced Coffee
Recipe minimally adapted from Craving Comfort

Ingredients:

• 8 oz coffee beans, coarsely ground just before using
• 8 generous cups of cold water
• cheese cloth
• 1 can fat free evaporated milk
• 1/2 can low fat sweetened condensed milk (1.5g fat per serving)

Method:

1. Combine coarsely ground coffee with the cold water in a large bowl. Stir to ensure all coffee grounds are moistened. Leave sit 8 hours or overnight.
2. Line a fine mesh sieve with a few layers of cheesecloth (3-4) or with a coffee filter (you may need to change the coffee filter several times while filtering). Pour coffee mixture through the lined sieve until completely drained. Chill coffee base in fridge and discard the grounds.
3. Mix together the evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk. I combined mine in a salad dressing container that mixed everything together nicely.
4. Fill a tall glass with ice and find a pretty straw. Fill glass 3/4 full with coffee mixture then top remaining room with the milk mixture. Stir and enjoy! You won't ever have to buy iced coffee again!! 

You can also experiment with different flavours of coffee beans. The second time I made this one I used 3 1/2 oz of hazelnut cream flavoured beans and the remaining 4 1/2 oz of beans I used just plain regular coffee beans. It was delicious! Some of the other flavours I want to try out are vanilla, bavarian chocolate, and irish cream. Using 3 1/2 ozs resulted in a very prominent flavour, so if you are after a more subtle flavour try starting with 2 - 2 1/2 ozs of flavored beans. This adds extra flavour to your coffee without adding extra calories!

Hope you enjoy this one! I know I definitely did. I've made it twice now and even my hubby enjoys it and he's not nearly the coffee fanatic I am. Cheers!