Beverage
These mocha iced coffee cubes are the perfect way to keep your iced coffee bold, while adding a fun flavor twist. They’re gluten free, dairy free, and a great easy to make treat.
Oh how I love me some iced coffee. I’m sure this comes as a shock to all since I’ve never, ever mentioned it. I’ve surely never posted a picture of me drinking iced coffee on Instagram….
Ok, #busted.
Though I get my fair share of iced coffee on the go, I love making it at home too. I even perfected my own homemade cold-brew method before it was trendy and cool. Luckily I’ve discovered something way way easier than a coffee filter precariously balanced on top of a strainer on top of a pitcher…and actual cold brew set.
Iced Coffee Cubes
But the best part of making iced coffee at home is that I can load my cup up with iced coffee cubes before filling it with cold brew, meaning if I don’t get to chug it down in one gulp, it doesn’t end up in a watered-down mess.
[Tweet “Try these mocha cubes to keep your next iced coffee bold & fresh!”]
Here’s a fun twist on plain-old coffee ice cubes, which give your iced coffee just a hint of mocha character without being overwhelming.
Simply combine leftover coffee or some cold-brew, Almond Breeze Almondmilk chocolate, and a dash of cinnamon. Pour into ice cube trays and freeze so your iced coffee cubes are ready whenever your next cup is calling. Which is always.
Or you know, just eat them plain, like some unnamed three year old. 
This “Easy as Breeze” post was originally sponsored by Almond Breeze Almondmilk.
Beverage
Want evidence of full-force mommy brain?
I titled a post “Pumpkin Spice Latte: Hot & Iced”.
And then I only showed the hot.
Which is ironic because it’s the iced that I’ve been sipping on daily. Pumpkin spice may be back, but it’s still summer here.
So here’s the iced.
Same method as the hot latte, but made with the pumpkin milk mixture chilled and served over cold double-brewed coffee.
The secret to delicious iced coffee? Coffee ice cubes. One of those things that’s so simple, yet no one ever thinks of it. Me included. But when I do remember, it’s on point.
I like to make my coffee ice cubes with mostly coffee and a splash of almond milk so it doesn’t throw off the coffee-to-almond-milk ratio when they melt. I guess you could call me anal.
This particular iced coffee blend is half double-strength coffee, half pumpkin spiced almond milk. I don’t usually sweeten my drinks, but I prefer this one with a splash of maple syrup or Torani Hazlenut coffee syrup. The hazelnut flavor is perfect with the cloves and cinnamon. Mmmmmmm.
Hint: use mason jars to make your iced coffees and you can make them all at once and store them in the fridge for the perfect grab-n-go treat.
Optionally topped with vegan maple whipped cream.
Also optional? Making a giant mess.
I was trying to make a third jar of iced coffee to even things out. Didn’t go so well. Oh well.
Coffee Talk
A few things for you to peruse while you sip your morning coffee:
I’m shared The WHYs & HOWs of Foam Rolling on The Lean Green Bean.
Think you don’t have time to exercise? Stop making excuses and figure out how to make exercising at home work for you on Food, Fitness, & Family.
Are you an avid fish oil supplement taker? You might want to read this new study. I still need a little more evidence before I stop believing in them, but this just shows yet again that whole foods are best. 
Any good reads lately?
Recipe
Since we’re already talking about Starbucks, pumpkin, and coffee, we might as well talk about Starbucks and pumpkin with coffee.
Starbucks pumpkin scones, to be precise.
I have a love-hate relationship with scones. As in, most of the time I hate them. But then one day I tried a Starbucks cinnamon chip scone, and the oddest thing happened- I didn’t hate it. A few more bites and I found myself actually liking it. And now I love them.
So imagine my dismay when I pull into Starbucks for a scone & iced coffee fix, and they’re all out of cinnamon chip scones. Instead, I saw a platter of pumpkin scones resting behind the glass, plastered in icing.
I figured I might as well give it a try. I do love pumpkin after all. I asked for one without the icing, but those apparently don’t exist.
Now, I’ll give Starbucks some credit. Their pumpkin scones are much better than their pumpkin lattes, but the thick crust of icing was a deal breaker. I’m in the scones-shouldn’t-be-overly-sweet party. That’s why they’re scones, not dry cookies.
So of course that meant only one thing. I had to make my own. Then I could have all the same tasty goodness, minus the sugar overload, plus a little whole grain.
If you’ve ever tried to come up with your own baking recipe, you know that the chances of things working out the first time are about the same chances of me running into Britney Spears at Target.
Case in point?
Pumpkin biscuits and pumpkin cinnamon biscuit bread thingamombob. Oh, you don’t recognize those? Yeah, they never made it to the blog. They turned out ok- but not perfect. And then I forgot the recipe I started with. Whomp whomp whooomp.
But this time…this time there was perfection from the beginning. It wasn’t exactly a first-try recipe since I started with my cinnamon chip scone recipe, but even the slightest change in a baked good recipe can spell disaster. Luckily this time it worked out. I scarfed at least three down before I even thought of moving on to the icing stage.
Starbucks Pumpkin Scones
Vegan-ized, whole wheat-ified, de-sugarized. Still delish-ified.
The key to scones is to a) keep the butter cold and b) not to overwork the dough.
Start off with your dry ingredients, included cinnamon, nutmeg, and the remaining holy trinity of pumpkin flavor: allspice, ginger, and cloves.
Cut in the cold butter. I used Earth Balance so it’d be vegan, but feel free to stick with regular butter. Mix in the wet ingredients and form a ball of dough. Chances are you’ll have to get your hands in their to make the dough come together.
Roll the dough out into a rectangle, then slice into squares, and then triangles. We’re making mini scones today. You can make big ones if you’d like, you might just need to up the cook time a minute or two.
Spread on a lined or greased baking sheet and pop them in the oven.
A few minutes later you’ll be pleasantly greeted with fluffy pumpkin scones.
Let cool completely before icing. I actually prefer them without the icing, still warm from the oven. But feel free to go the icing route too.
I made a cinnamon glaze and a pumpkin spice icing. You can use one or the other, or a combination of both. The combo ones were my favorite.
So now go grab your homemade iced coffee from yesterday, and sit down with a plateful of better-than-Starbucks pumpkin scones.
[Tweet “Craving pumpkin? Try these better-than-Starbucks pumpkin scones. #vegan”]
Pumpkin Scones
For the Scones
-
1
cup
spelt flour
-
1
cup
all purpose flour
-
1/2
Tbsp
baking powder
-
1/2
tsp
ground cinnamon
-
1/4
tsp
ground nutmeg
-
1/4
tsp
ground allspice
-
1/4
tsp
ground ginger
-
1/8
tsp
ground cloves
-
1
Tbsp
granulated sugar
-
1
Tbsp
brown sugar
-
1/4
cup
vegan butter
-
1/3
cup
pumpkin puree
-
1/3
cup
almond milk
For the Cinnamon Icing
-
1/4
cup
powdered sugar
-
1/2
Tbsp
almond milk
-
Cinnamon & nutmeg to taste
For the Pumpkin Spice Icing
-
1/4
cup
powdered sugar
-
1
tsp
almond milk
-
1
tsp
pumpkin puree
-
Cinnamon & ground cloves to taste
For the Scones
-
Mix together dry ingredients.
-
Cut in cold butter. If your dough gets too warm at any point, stick it in the fridge.
-
Stir in milk and pumpkin puree.
-
Mix until ball of dough forms. You'll likely need to use your hands as it will be dry at first.
-
Roll dough into rectangle. Slice into triangles.
-
Bake at 375 for 12 minutes.
For the Icings
-
Mix all ingredients together. Adjust amount of milk to achieve desired thickness. If only using one icing, double the recipe.
Recipe
Judging by my love of both pumpkin and lattes, you’d think I’d be all about some Starbucks’ pumpkin spice lattes.
But surprise, surprise, I’m not. I think they’re disgusting.
But let’s be clear. I love pumpkin.
And I really, really love lattes. Or anything coffee.
I make a lot of pumpkin things. I won’t bore you with anymore…just yet. But I will let you in on a little secret of mine.
Iced Coffee.
[Tweet “How to make cold-brew coffee at home.”]
Fall is the perfect time of year for many reasons, one of which is the ability to be comfortable while wearing jeans and still drinking an iced coffee drink.
Only problem is, I don’t have a barista living in my kitchen.
Or do I?
The secrets to the perfect iced coffee:
Step 1. Cold brew coffee. It takes a little forethought, but so does driving to Starbucks.
I was always a little confused why Starbucks didn’t make decaf iced coffee, since they always have a pot of decaf sitting around anyways. This, my friends, is why. It’s a whole different animal- it’s a stronger brewed, less acidic-y coffee. {For the record, you can get a decaf iced Americano and it’s the same as a decaf iced coffee. I think it’s even 10 cents less.}
Update: you no longer need to hack cold-brew coffee. Try a cold-brew coffee maker!
Mix 1 1/3 cup coffee grounds with 8 cups cold water. Be sure to choose good coffee- crappy coffee grounds make even crappier iced coffee. {This is my favorite decaf coffee.} Stir and place in the fridge overnight.
In the AM, straining the liquid out of the coffee grounds. I find it easiest to throw a coffee filter on top of a strainer and let it do it’s thing. Ok, I’ll be honest- I really hover over it and pick the coffee filter up and squeeze the liquid out because I’m rather inpatient.
You can skip this next step, but I hear it’s all the rage. You want to be in on the trendy things, right? 
Step 2. Whip up some vegan sweetened condensed milk. I suppose you could also just crack a can of the pre-made stuff, but that’s awfully sugary for my liking. Apparently iced coffee with sweetened condensed milk {and even extra cream} is called Vietnamese iced coffee. Who knew?!
Boil a can of coconut milk with a tablespoon or so of agave nectar. {More if you like it sweet- I don’t.} When the milk comes to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer or slight rolling boil, and let it cook away. Reduce the coconut milk by about half or two thirds. Remove from heat and chill.
Step 3. Fill up your glass with ice cubes. Or, be sneaky like me, and make coffee ice cubes with leftover coffee. It makes it even less likely to get all watered down. {trays}
Step 4. Pour in your cold brewed coffee.
Top with your homemade sweetened condensed milk. Adjust coffee-to-cream ratio per your liking. {This was probably too much coffee.}
Stir, sip, and sit back and relax.
Good news is, you only have to go through the whole process occasionally- you’ll have enough cold brewed coffee and sweetened condensed coconut milk to last you a few glasses. You can always make extra up front too. {Or just use milk or cream.}
{A sippy straw is, of course, completely necessary.}
[Tweet “The secret to perfect homemade iced coffee”]
On a side note, find out what it’s like being 21 weeks pregnant.
