Next up in the summer cocktail series is a coffee drink, that’s perfect for after dinner. When we think of cocktails we usually think something fruity like my spiced piña coladas or my sparkling bay breeze. This week I decided to go for an after dinner cocktail with a spiked iced caramel vanilla latte.
Often when I host a dinner party, I offer coffee with dessert. It wasn’t long ago I thought why not offer coffee AS dessert. Dessert isn’t always necessary. There I said it! I know, many “leave room for dessert”, but sometimes it’s just too much. A coffee drink, such as this spiked iced caramel vanilla latte, with just a hint of sweetness and a touch of vodka does the trick.
If you prefer your coffee sweeter, you can start with my caramel coffee and make the drink from there. This recipe is easy to adjust the number of servings, you can make more coffee or use smaller mugs. You can also omit the vanilla vodka for the designated driver. Substitute 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract in place of the vanilla vodka. Start with a little and add more if necessary.
Be sure to check out the other drinks today in the summer cocktail series.
Ingredients
- 1 pot brewed coffee, chilled or cooled
- 3 ounces vanilla vodka
- 6 tablespoons half and half or heavy cream
- Reddi-Whip whipped cream
- 2 - 4 teaspoons caramel ice cream topping
- Ice
Instructions
- Fill 2 mason jar glasses with ice.
- Add 1 1/2 ounces of vanilla vodka to each glass. Add coffee and stir gently to combine.
- Add 3 tablespoons half and half to each glass. (or more if desired)
- Top each glass with a swirl of whipped cream and drizzle with caramel ice cream topping.
Notes
If you prefer a sweeter latte, you can start with my caramel coffee
OK, I know you’re totally singing The Eagles song Tequila Sunrise. I’m singing it as I’m writing this too. Not such a bad song to have stuck in your head, especially if you have the cocktail on the table next to you. I think a Tequila Sunrise is one of my favorite drinks, probably because it’s so pretty. It looks so tropical and reminds me of one of my favorite trips to the Caribbean. Don’t you love when something reminds you of a special time?
It was a great week! I was the lucky recipient of some gorgeous home-grown mangoes. My neighbor brought some back with her from her visit to family in Miami. Both her mom and sister have trees in their yard. So when a friend gives you mangoes, you make frozen mango margaritas.
You may be wondering to yourself, what is a bay breeze? You’re probably familiar with the more popular sea breeze. A drink made with vodka, cranberry juice and grapefruit juices. I am not a fan of grapefruit and many who take statins can’t have anything grapefruit. A traditional bay breeze is one of my favorite cocktails. It’s made with vodka, cranberry and pineapple juice. I decided to mix it up a bit and make a sparkling bay breeze using sparkling cranberry juice. Am I ever glad I did because I now have a new favorite sparking drink.
It’s hot but that’s summer in Florida. Every summer, I might add but that’s OK. I love it here but I’m always looking for refreshing ways to cool off. I’ve been seeing a lot of wine slushies and when I needed to use up some cantaloupe recently I thought it might be fun to try making one. I also had part of a bottle of chardonnay. I thought they would work well together and I was right.
