Vanilla Iced Coffee

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I love iced coffee.

Vanilla Iced Coffee

I could chug it until I get the shakes.

Vanilla Iced Coffee

And sometimes I even do.  Both chug it AND get the shakes.

Vanilla Iced CoffeeBut it’s well worth the jitter fingers.

My method & “recipe” for making Iced Coffee:

Brew coffee as usual

Drink all the hot coffee you want and take whatever is left over and put that in the refrigerator.  That becomes tomorrow’s chilled coffee for iced coffee.

I don’t recommend making iced coffee with freshly brewed hot coffee.  I do it in a pinch but the hot coffee melts the ice, it gets watered down, and it’s not ideal.

You can also add excess coffee to ice cube trays and freeze.  The resulting iced coffee cubes are excellent to use as the ice for iced coffee.

I never just pour extra coffee down the sink.  It either becomes iced-coffee-coffee or iced-coffee-cubes.

Take the sufficiently chilled/refrigerated coffee, add ice to it.

Add any of the following is of interest to you (or none of this):

milks: half and half, milk, nut milk, flavored creamers (I have previously discussed my love of Coffeemate French Vanilla)

sweeteners: stevia, liquid stevia (I find that liquid stevia is far superior to powdered stevia when working with cold beverages) and NuNaturals Vanilla Stevia Drops are my go-to; real sugar (however there can be dissolving issues whereas “artificial” sweeteners like Splenda, Equal, Sweet ‘n Low will dissolve much better); or use a simple syrup (i.e. 1 part sugar to 1 part water dissolved in boiling water), honey, or agave.

others: vanilla/hazelnut/almond/cocoa bean extract, vanilla bean scrapings, cinnamon

dessert-like iced coffee: cocoa powder, whipped cream/Cool Whip, chocolate sprinkles, chocolate or caramel sauce drizzles on top or lining your cup with chocolate or caramel sauce first

I use lots of French Vanilla Coffeemate, a splash of half & half, and a few drops of NuNaturals Vanilla Stevia drops.

 

NuNaturals Vanilla Stevia drops

Some people shake the whole mixture up in something like a Blender Bottle or a martini shaker or by inverting an empty glass over the top of the full glass with the coffee + ice cubes, but I just stir with a spoon or my straw.

I have to have a straw for iced coffees!

I love the local coffee in Aruba.

local coffee in Aruba

I can drink it hot…

coffee

…or cold.

Vanilla Iced Coffee

I can suck one of these down in a hurry.  Times two.

Vanilla Iced Coffee overhead

I love coffee, in general.

I’ve reviewed dozens of coffee brands

…from TJ’s

Canister of Dark Sumatra Whole Bean Coffee

to Starbucks

to flavored Smores Coffee

And I’ve posted about Caffeine AddictionOh well. But I do love coffee, caffeine and all.

I came up with a Vegan Caramel Macchiato recipe because I was sick of paying for them!  Very pricey little habits at Starbucks, and those aren’t vegan, of course. Even if you don’t have an espresso maker, brew some strong coffee, buy a cheapie milk frother, add your caramel sauce and you’re done.
Vegan Caramel Macchiato

 

Overhead of Vegan Caramel Macchiato in mug

Vegan Caramel Macchiato

Overhead of Vanilla iced coffee in glass

Close up of top of glass of coffee

About the Author

Welcome to AverieCooks! Here you’ll find fast and easy recipes that taste amazing and are geared for real life. Nothing fussy or complicated, just awesome tasting dishes everyone loves!

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Please note: I have only made the recipe as written, and cannot give advice or predict what will happen if you change something. If you have a question regarding changing, altering, or making substitutions to the recipe, please check out the FAQ page for more info.

Comments

  1. Averie, thank you so much for the blogging tips! I’m kinda new to blogging, and will be following your helpful pointers! (BTW, I love your directness!) As for coffee, my hubby calls me “leather tongue” because I like my coffee scalding hot! Either that, or ice ice cold. Never in between!! Love looking at your Aruba pics! Have a great weekend!

    1. leather tongue…love it, that would be me b/c like my mom and grandma, we can all drink our coffee RIDIC hot!

  2. I can’t imagine my life without iced coffee. Gosh, I drink at least 2 glasses a day which probably isn’t the greatest because when its hot coffee, all I need is one cup a day. Oh well, it’s only in the summer so I can justify it. :)

    YAY!! So happy I won!! I did get the email from her so I will let you know when they come. Thanks again sweetie.

    1. ok good glad you got the email and i also sent you another copy…yes enjoy and lmk what you get or blog about it…can’t wait to see what you chose!

  3. Oh, yeah, I love iced coffee! I always make the cubes out of decaf so that my drink doesn’t water-down while they’re melting but I don’t get palpitations from excess caffeine. That stuff goes down too easily when I’m hot and thirsty.

  4. I don’t drink coffee (anymore…) but my boyfriend LOVES it so I’m always looking for something to keep at my house for him. He can pund a large one before bed and sleep through the night!

  5. Hell to the yes for French Vanilla Coffeemate! Love the stuff. International Delight Coffeehouse Inspirations creamers are amazing, too. The Vanilla Caramel Creme is the stuff of dreams!

    I love all coffee. I particularly like Peets, Stumptown, and Jim’s Organic, but any well-brewed, strong cup is fine by me.

    My coffee MUST be strong. Iced and hot are equally awesome, as long as it’s strong.

    Love this post! Now I want a second cup :)

  6. I feel like this post was written for me! Hahaha last summer I became obsesseddd with iced coffee and haven’t looked back since! I really love TJ’s gingerbread coffee or just plain coffee. I always add stevia and vanilla soy milk. The funny thing is, I can’t stand hot coffee!

    1. ok that tj’s coffee…whenever i try to brew it (only 3 times) each time it overflowed ALL OVER MY coffee maker and countertop. something about those flakes/flecks/strands IN that coffee my machine cant deal with and it was literally…a HOT MESS everywhere! I want to have that coffee so badly tho…new machine needed to brew it, i guess.

  7. I love coffee too – too bad I dno’t get to drink it all the time or else my stomach would feel like it’s churning 24/7. I used to be a coffee mate addict!!

  8. I have been drinking at least two iced coffees/day for the past 6 years… I’m an addict! No hot coffee for me- for some reason I really don’t like it… My students can see me coming a block away because I’m always holding a cup of iced coffee… In the winter, I walk down the street in the snow a hat, scarf and mittens drinking iced coffee.

    I’ve been really digging Newman’s Own Vanilla Caramel and Green Mountain Hazelnut- both Fair Trade, which is important to me!

    Add soymilk and stevia and I’m good to go! :)

  9. i JUST started drinking coffee in january…and now i love it. s’bux VIA pacs – genius and delicious. i drink it with stevia concentrate, otherwise black. delicious! not sure how/why my taste buds changed, but i AM enjoying coffee!
    have yet to try iced coffee. so i TOTALLY appreciated your “recipe”/tips. esp that liquid stevia is better. i do like a little caffeine jolt in my day, too…!
    enjoy your day! hope it includes lotsa coffee – iced and/or hot!

  10. I absolutely love coffee! every morning I drink coffee not to wake me up butnto enjoy the taste of coffee.
    I drink it with splash of 2% or whole milk and nunaturals. I need to experiment with other creams !

    I don’t drink ice coffee much because it makes me too cold if the weather is not really ot, but I do like the taste of it! :)

    1. I was writing this post when your email/FB post to me came in…you were psychic :)

  11. haha i was making my iced coffee when i was reading this lol Since i open at a gym (and have to get up at 4 am everyday) you better believe that i drink coffee!! I can only drink hot coffee december-february, the rest of the time it has to be cold!! I double brew my spanish expresso coffee to keep it strong when it gets iced. Every morning i make extra and leave it in the fridge for the next day. I love your coffee ice cube idea! if my freezer wasnt stuffed to the brim i would so do that!!

  12. Ooh, I love it! I can also chug iced drinks in the dead of winter, why wouldn’t you, they’re delicious at any time of year, and I can’t do without my hot drinks in summer either :D I’m pleased to say I can drink it endlessly too, as I never get a caffeine rush – it just doesn’t seem to have any effect on me!

    I think your blogging guide post was spot on, I hate plagiarism and the theft of intellectual property, it’s no less theft than somebody stealing your car: the point is, it’s YOURS and you’ve done the work. In fact, it’s possibly worse, because it’s sly: you can prove that your car’s missing and that it was yours in the first place, but with intellectual property it’s much more difficult, and sometimes impossible to prove that it was yours first :(

    1. amen to this “I hate plagiarism and the theft of intellectual property, it’s no less theft than somebody stealing your car: the point is, it’s YOURS and you’ve done the work. ”

      and glad you like your coffee too!

  13. hah, I had to laugh…”As if I’d have the time or desire to do anything else when all I wanted to do was inhale my iced coffee!” because as soon as I read that about the ice cubes my thought was “oh, please. I don’t have the patience for that.” Reason #500 why I could never be a real food photographer :P Yours looks beautiful anyways. No need for fake-ness.
    I, too, am loving my coffee iced lately. It goes down a little too easily, actually! I never remember to brew cups in advance (I have a Keurig so no leftovers, either) but I find it works well for me if I brew a hot cup over ice if I use the “espresso” setting. It makes it really strong, so when it hits the ice and melts some of it, it doesn’t get too watered down.
    My “kick” lately is hazelnut coffee with a almond milk and 6 drops of nunaturals cocoa bean extract. SO GOOD. Straw also mandatory. (LOVE my new copco tumbler thing!)

    1. brew a hot cup over ice if I use the “espresso” setting. It makes it really strong, so when it hits the ice and melts some of it, it doesn’t get too watered down. = NICE trick

      And “hazelnut coffee with a almond milk and 6 drops of nunaturals cocoa bean extract.”– i have tons of that nunaturals C.B.E. and am going to try it in my coffee!

  14. coffee iced cubes?! GENIUS!!!! I loveeeee iced coffee, and will drink a ton and get the jitters, too! It is totally worth it :)