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When you are a single Mom to two teenage daughters you realize a couple of things. They think your world revolves around them and your money does too. It seems like whenever I get just a little extra I have to spend it for something they desperately need, or want. So sometimes fancy coffee drinks are completely out of the question. I sometimes envy those Moms that make a run to Starbucks every day,but really it is all I can do just to get out of my pajamas every day. Then I have to ask myself the question “Do I really want to go out for coffee?” Most of the time it is no and thankfully making coffee recipes, including those fancy schmancy coffee drinks, are just as easy and often times less expensive.
I headed over to Wal-Mart a few days ago and found International Delight Light Iced Coffee in the coffee creamer section. Now, I have already been a big fan of the regular in Mocha flavor,but if I can get the same great taste with fewer calories I am so sold. So I picked up a carton to bring home. ( You can see my full shopping experience here). When I got home I took the carton out and read the back before placing it in the fridge. I must admit I was really amazed by the fact it was still made with Arabica beans, but was still 1/3 less calories. The biggest surprise was looking at the ingredients. It still had real sugar, not the fake kind that upsets my stomach. I nearly jumped up and down with that. One 1 cup serving is only 100 calories. May I just say it again? Sold!
If you have been reading the blog lately you will notice I am on a serious cupcake kick. I thought about my favorite coffee drinks and I decided to do a Mocha Mint Cupcake. The cake would infuse the Mocha iced coffee and the icing would flavored with peppermint extract and colored green. It reminds me of mint chocolate chip icecream.
Then I had to think about what went great with cupcakes? Coffee, duh! I love rich and creamy coffee drinks and I honestly thought about doing this great frozen one I do,but then I vetoed it. I decided to do Italian Iced Coffee. Which is kind of like Italian Hot Chocolate but not as dense. After I decided what to do I couldn’t wait to get started!
I found using the iced coffee was fairly easy in the recipes. For the cupcakes I substituted the water with the iced coffee. In my Italian Iced Coffee I substituted half the milk for the iced coffee. Both worked beautifully and I will definitely be using it more in my baking and I am even thinking about other recipes I can substitute it in. At $3.94 a gallon it is definitely a cheaper option. Money is really tight and I don’t feel as guilty buying something I can use in several different ways than I would if I bought one single drink that is going to be gone in an hour. Plus no matter what I am using it for I am saving an extra 100 calories by using the light!
After making my dessert and drink I decided to stop by International Delight Iced Coffee’s Facebook page. I was really excited to see they had more recipes and some cute, fun stuff there!
Ingredients
- 1 box Duncan Hines Cupcake Mix
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup International Delight Light Iced Coffee
- 1/4 Oil
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup softened butter
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 teaspoons peppermint extract
- Green icing paste
- 12 ounces chocolate, chopped into small pieces
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
- Mix all cupcake ingredients together, taking care not to over mix. It dries out the cupcakes.
- Fill each cupcake liner with 2/3 cup of mix.
- Bake for 20 to 24 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean when it is inserted.
- Let cool completely before Icing.
- Cream together butter and 2 cups of powder sugar. Add in milk and peppermint, beat together until well blended. Add 3 cups of powdered sugar, one at a time until well mixed. Color with green icing paste until desired color is reached. If icing is to thick thin with milk.
- Place chocolate pieces in a large bowl. Heat heavy cream on medium high until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and immediately pour cream over chocolate and stir until completely mixed and glossy. Let cool slightly before dipping.
- Using a large piping tip, pipe icing onto cupcakes, kind of resembling an ice cream cone.
- Dip into chocolate ganache
- Let it set up. Do not put it into the freezer to set up. It will cause the chocolate to sweat when it cools to room temperature.
- Keep refrigerated.
Ingredients
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1 cup International Delight Light Iced Coffee
- 4 oz dark chocolate cut into pieces
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Instructions
- Cut up your chocolate and put it into a bowl.
- In a small pan add your whipping cream and iced coffee. Cook over medium heat until it is hot ( not boiling) add your cornstarch and whisk vigorously until it is well blended. Let cook until it coats the back of a spoon. Make sure the mixture does not boil. Remove from heat.
- Immediately pour the mixture over the chocolate and stir until it is well blended. It will be a little thick, that is okay.
- Cool mixture with ice and then strain into glass. This will make it cold.
- Garnish with whip cream and a chocolate sqaure on top.
“I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® . and White Wave #cbias #SocialFabric. All opinions are my own.”
I get a little jealous of moms who can make the coffee shop runs, too. BUT, at heart I’m a budget savvy girl & love the idea of spending $4 on a whole carton rather than $4 on just one drink!
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