Coffeemom

Andes Mint Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino

Chocolate and mint together is a wonderful thing. So I found these Andes Chocolate Mint pieces and decided to try them for a new frappuccino recipe. Delicious!

So here it is:

Andes Chocolate Mint Mocha Frappuccino

First you start out with putting approximately 8 ice cubes into the blender. Then pour in 2 cold shots of espresso or 1/4 cup cold coffee. Make sure the coffee/espresso is cold or else it will melt the ice when you pour it in.

Then you’ll add 1 tablespoon of chocolate powder. I love Ghirardelli Sweet Ground Chocolate (this will take you to Amazon.com)

Next, measure 1/4 cup of Andes Mints , either the baking pieces or the actual chocolate mint candies.

Then you might want to add 1/8 cup of Torani Crème de Menthe Syrup if you have some, or you could just add a few more of the Andes Mints, but it tastes excellent with the extra sweetness and mint flavor of the syrup.

*Optional: Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream for an extra tasty treat!

Then pour in 2/3 cup of half and half (or milk, but half and half is better) and blend, blend, blend!

Top with whipped cream, drink up and enjoy 🙂

Andes Mint Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino

Recipe Type: Drinks

Cuisine: American

Author: Melissa Hall

Serves: 1

Ingredients

1/4 cup cold coffee or 2 shots of cold espresso
8 ice cubes
1 tbls Sweet ground chocolate (Ghirardelli is what I use)
1/4 cup Andes Mint Chocolate pieces
1/8 cup Mint Syrup
1 scoop of ice cream *optional
2/3 cup milk or half and half

Instructions

Pour all ingredients into the blender and blend.
Pour into your glass, top with whipped cream and enjoy!

How to Make an Iced Coffee at Home-Easy Iced Coffee Recipe

by Coffeemom

Iced coffee is an excellent drink for hot summer days. I never did understand how people could drink hot coffee on a hot day. Both my parents do it, and I know many other people do too. Strange, people, very strange!

So anyway, you want to know how to make an iced coffee at home? You say you want to save some money and not have to stop by that coffee shop all the time to get a simple iced coffee drink?

Well, here you go. Very simple, no flavors, just add some cream and sugar if you don’t like it black!

Iced Coffee Drink Recipe

First off, I am using a nifty mason jar for this. Gives it kind of a rustic/redneck feel 😉 If you want sugar in your iced coffee, add a tablespoon or however much sugar you want first.

Next, pour some fresh brewed coffee in, just enough to mix with the sugar and dissolve it.

Now, fill the glass full with ice and pour the fresh brewed coffee over the top. If you want to add cream, just remember to leave some room for it of course!

Now you can stir and drink it black, or……..

You can pour in the delicious half and half! This is what I would do,although I don’t like much coffee in my drinks, so normally I wouldn’t make a plain iced coffee! I love my flavored mochas!

Stir your iced coffee, drink and enjoy!

How To Make an Iced Coffee at Home

Recipe Type: Drinks

Author: Melissa Hall

Prep time: 1 min

Cook time: 1 min

Total time: 2 mins

Serves: 1

Learn how to make this delicious iced coffee drink at home. Save money and time from stopping at the coffee shop!

Ingredients

Fresh brewed coffee
1tbls or more of sugar
Ice
Half and Half or creamer (optional)

Instructions

If using sugar, put the sugar in the cup first.
Then pour enough hot coffee into the cup to dissolve the sugar.
Fill the cup with ice to the top.
Pour hot coffee over the ice until the full. If using creamer, make sure to leave some room.
Optional: Pour creamer to top it off.
Stir, drink, and enjoy your iced coffee!

Best Espresso Machines Under $300

by Coffeemom

Since Amazon.com is a popular place to buy and check reviews on items, and one of my favorite places to shop online, I decided to put together a sortable list of some of the best rated espresso machines I could find for under $300.

Now, understand, from my research, Espresso machines under $300 are probably going to be mediocre, but if you’re like me, you may not be able to afford a high quality, $600 or more machine! But by taking a look at the reviews on the machines below, I’ve concluded that you can probably get a decent beginner machine in that price range.

I am actually going to be doing more research on this since I will be purchasing my first espresso machine soon! I’ve used other peoples machines and of course a professional commercial machine when I worked for my brother, but I’ve never had one of my own. I can’t wait! I will keep you posted on what machine I settle on and give a full review. I can guarantee you, this first machine will be $300 or less so my review will go along well with this list.

Most of these espresso makers also have free shipping available, which is a plus! I thought this would be helpful, especially being able to sort by the number of reviews (I haven’t seen that option on Amazon yet). So I hope this is helpful to you and you can find that perfect espresso machine for your coffeeholic needs!

I didn’t list the exact prices, since Amazon’s prices often change due to sales and markdowns, so here is a key:

$ = $100 or less
$$ = $100-200
$$$ = $200-299

Be sure to scroll sideways at the bottom of the table to view more searchable columns such as Price and # of reviews. (I am going to fix this hopefully soon, so you don’t have to scroll sideways)

Searchable List of some of the Best Espresso Machines Under $300

Name	Brand	Style	Pump Preasure	Rating	# of reviews	Price
Bialetti 6800 Moka Express Stovetop Espresso Maker	Bialetti	Stovetop (does not make "true" espresso, but is close and can produce some crema)	1.5-bar	4.6	539	$
Nespresso CitiZ Automatic Single-Serve Espresso Maker and Milk Frother	Nesspresso	Automatic	19-bar	4.6	169	$$$
Mr. Coffee BVMC-ECMP1000 Café Barista Espresso Maker	Mr. Coffee	Pump	15-bar	4.6	48	$$
Nespresso U D50 Espresso Maker with Aeroccino Milk Frother, Pure Black	Nesspresso	Automatic	19-bar	4.3	55	$$$
Nespresso Pixie Espresso Maker, Red	Nesspresso	Automatic	19-bar	4.2	129	$$
Nespresso Essenza C91 Manual Espresso Maker	Nesspresso	Manual	19-bar	4.1	99	$$
De'Longhi EC155 Espresso and Cappuccino Maker	Delonghi	Pump	15-Bar	3.9	1,645	$$
Mr. Coffee ECMP50 Espresso/Cappuccino Maker	Mr. Coffee	Pump	15-bar	3.9	286	$
De'Longhi BAR32 Retro Pump Espresso and Cappuccino Maker	Delonghi	Pump	15-bar	3.8	423	$$

Vanilla Cinnamon Frappuccino Recipe with Cinnamon Chips!

by Coffeemom

I just finished off this amazing frappuccino a little while ago. I bought several different kinds of baking chips and candy bars and stuff to use for coffee experimentation the other day. I found these cinnamon chips (like chocolate chips only cinnamon). I’ve had a vanilla cinnamon frappuccino before, but I thought it would be fun to try it with the cinnamon chips…It turned out incredible!

So, our ingredients: Hershey’s Cinnamon chips (I found them at Walmart), Torani’s Vanilla Syrup, Half and half, coffee/espresso, ice.

First, put about 9 cubes of ice in the blender and 1/4 cup coffee or 1-2 shots of espresso.

Next, add 1/4 cup of cinnamon chips and 1/4 cup of the Vanilla Syrup
.

Last, pour in 1/2 cup of Half and Half (or regular milk if you prefer), and then blend it all up for about 30 seconds or so, until nice and smooth. Then you can drink up and enjoy. The little bits of cinnamon chips are a nice bonus to it too!

Raspberry Malt Iced Coffee Recipe-Summertime Pick me Up!

by Coffeemom

Well, I went to the store tonight to pick up some diapers and milk and I ended up buying some ingredients to experiment with for coffee drinks. One of those ingredients is Ovaltine Classic Malt. Now, I always thought that malt was a form of chocolate until I got home and opened it up, and although it looks like a light colored chocolate, it didn’t really smell like chocolate (I’ve never drank Ovaltine before!). So I looked on the back, and sure enough, no cocoa to be found in the ingredients list.

So, I was planning on making a Raspberry iced mocha tonight so I could post the recipe on here, and then I decided to go ahead and use the Ovaltine and just see how it turned out.

I am very happy with how it turned out! It tastes wonderful! I even got some fresh raspberries from my plants out back and sprinkled some on top of the whipped cream. This is the earliest I’ve ever gotten ripe raspberries since it’s been so warm this spring. I think tomorrow I will make a fresh raspberry mocha frappuccino!

So then as I am sitting here typing this out, I’m thinking, What do I call it? It’s not a mocha….. Well, we’ll just call it a raspberry malt iced coffee 😉

Anyway, so here’s the recipe for you. You could easily substitute the Malt with chocolate, or chocolate malt to make an iced raspberry Mocha.

1/4 cup fresh brewed coffee or 1-2 shots of espresso
2 tablespoons Ovaltine Classic Malt
1/4 cup Raspberry syrup. I use Torani Raspberry Syrup
6 cubes of ice
Milk

Pour the Raspberry syrup and Ovaltine into your cup.
Pour hot coffee/espresso into your cup and stir until everything is desolved.
Add 6 cubes of ice
Fill the rest of the way with milk (quickly so the ice doesn’t melt too much first). I even topped mine off with a little bit of Half and half tonight 🙂
Top with whipped cream and fresh raspberries!

As always, let me know what you think!

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Frappuccino Recipe-Simply Irrisistible….

by Coffeemom

Tonight, (or last night, since it is now 12:30am) I made a very yummy, delicious frappuccino that I think you’ll enjoy!

What is it? you ask…. Peanut Butter White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino! Now, I don’t usually have white chocolate just lying around, but tonight I did! I had bought a white chocolate baking bar the other night to use for a different recipe, and tonight when I was thinking of a new frappuccino recipe I could post here, I thought…. “Peanut butter? White chocolate? I think YES!”

So I whipped one up and it tasted awesome! You could also use powdered white chocolate, or an actual white chocolate candy bar (which would probably be sweeter than the baking bar).

So here we go……

Here’s the roundup of ingredients: Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter (I love Skippy)
, Half and Half (but you can use lower fat milk if you like), Cold coffee or espresso shots (I keep mine in a container in the fridge), Ghirardelli White Chocolate Baking Bar or candy bar (can also use powdered white chocolate, especially if you don’t like the grittyness when you use the bars), Sugar and ice.

Pour in approximately 9 cubes of ice and 1/4 cup of cold coffee or 1 shot of espresso (don’t use hot coffee since it will melt the ice).

Now break off 2 squares of the white chocolate baking bar (or go crazy and use more!) and about 2 tablespoons of Skippy Peanut Butter.

Now dump in 1-2 tablespoons of sugar……

Next, pour in 3/4 cup of half and half. You can substitute this with lower fat milk, but to me, using regular milk for a frappuccino, even whole milk, just doesn’t taste as good!

Then, blend, blend blend, for at least 30 seconds…..

Pour your frappuccino into your favorite cup, top with some whipped cream and maybe even some white chocolate shavings (I use my cheese grater on the fine grate side) and drink up!

I hope you enjoy this recipe! leave a comment if you try it and let me know what you think!