Hazelnut Caramel Iced Coffee

Say farewell to your trips to the coffee shop (You know who I’m talking about!).  If you love those fancy coffee drinks (and who doesn’t?), you are going to love this recipe.  It is so easy, uses store bought ingredients and tastes so good.  Freeze up trays of coffee ice cubes and keep them in large, plastic freezer bags and you’ll be able to make this any time you get the craving.  

This is more like dessert, so I usually only have these occassionally but a couple of tips to keep this figure friendly:  you can use a sugar-free syrup and Smucker’s makes a sugar-free caramel sauce too.  Reddi-Wip puts out low fat and no fat whipped cream so you never have to feel guilty.  You decide where to skip the calories and where to indulge and let me tell you, they all taste great!

I recently served these pool side using the sugar free syrup and caramel sauce, and no one knew the difference.

Another reason to make these at home is the cost.  Those “designer coffee drinks are about $5 a piece.  You will save a ton of money if you make your own and you won’t even have to leave the house!  

This recipe gives you lots of flexability too.  Swap out the hazelnut syrup for vanilla or almond or pistachio.  Drizzle chocolate syrup on top instead of caramel.  Add a sprinkle of nuts of sprinkles for a little crunch and some pizzazz!  I was very tempted to put this in the dessert category but I controlled myself!

One final, and very important note:  you can make this even better with a shot of liqueur.  (No, not in the morning before work!!!)  Frangelico, amaretto or Godiva Chocolate would all be great additions. Have fun with this and enjoy!

If you like coffee drinks, be sure to try my Irish Coffee and my Bourbon, Maple & Pumpkin Coffee too.