Eating Well magazine has a coffee section this month. I like coffee, so of course I was a little excited about this. I made a Smoky Black Bean Soup which took coffee (and which I'll post about in a little soon - but I'd like to note that I can only eat it for lunch, not dinner, because of the caffeine), and while I was brewing coffee for that on Tuesday evening, I decided to go ahead and brew some double-strength coffee to make a Frozen Mochaccino over the weekend when I could appreciate the caffeine during the day and not worry about staying up all night.
First, you brew double-strength coffee and freeze it in ice trays, at least 4 hours or overnight. [Or from Tuesday until Sunday, as I did - but I had mine covered so that the freezer wouldn't smell like coffee. As a side note, ice cubes don't last forever; they lose definition and stick together if they're in contact, especially if they're made from coffee or broth or anything that's not just water. At least, that's been my experience. I think the ice cubes (and anything else frozen) just leach moisture from each other; think about freezer burn, or a freezer that needs defrosting.]
Once your coffee is frozen and you're ready to make your drink, you blend the coffee ice cubes with milk, cocoa powder, honey (or maple syrup, as they call for), and a tiny bit of vanilla. I tried to do this in the Magic Bullet, but honestly, the largest cup they had was just a tiny bit too small. Milk froths up when blended. So I made a bit of a mess.
While I'm talking about things you should and shouldn't do, I'd also like to note that freezing coffee as ice cubes is definitely what you should do. Freezing coffee in a container and then trying to hack it apart so it will fit in your blender is a little messy, and time-consuming. So don't make that mistake.
This was pretty tasty. I make iced coffees with leftover coffee sometimes during the summer, but double-strength coffee is definitely tastes better. It also compliments the chocolate flavor. I used 2 tablespoons of honey in this, and it was just sweet enough. I thought it was coffee-y, chocolatey, and rich, but if you like things on the sweet side, you might want a little more sweetener in this. This was simple to make, and although it takes a little forethought since you make the coffee ice cubes in advance, it doesn't take long to prepare. I'm sure I'll make it again, probably for a warm, summer weekend afternoon.
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