5 Summer Treats With a Coffee Twist
For our next installment of caffeinated culinary creativity, we’re turning to that summery sweet we all know and love: ice cream! We’ve teamed up with Starbucks to turn their lineup of Starbucks® Discoveries Iced Cafe Favorites (available at your local grocery store) into all sorts of coffee ice cream-based treats.
From festive ice cream cupcakes to ice cream sundae push pops, we’ve got a treat for anyone who’s got a sweet tooth.
First thing to do is create your ice cream base!
Starbucks® Discoveries Iced Cafe Favorites – Ice Cream Base
Ingredients:
– 1 ½ cups Starbucks® Discoveries Iced Cafe Favorites (choose from Vanilla Latte, Caffé Mocha or Caramel Macchiato)
– 1 ½ cups whipping cream
– ⅓ cup sugar
Optional add-ins:
– ¼ cup caramel sauce
– ½ cup chocolate syrup
– 1 vanilla bean, split
Prepare an ice cream maker according to the package instructions (this usually involves an overnight chill of the ice cream bowl in the freezer). Mix together your choice of Starbucks® Discoveries Iced Cafe Favorites, whipping cream, and sugar in a large bowl. For a deeper chocolate or vanilla flavor, add chocolate syrup or vanilla bean to the mix as well.
Place mixture in the ice cream maker and process according to machine directions. Once the ice cream has been processed in the ice cream maker, gently stir in the optional add-ins of caramel or chocolate syrup to leave ribbons of flavor in the ice cream. Transfer ice cream to a freezer safe container and freeze overnight.
We made a batch using Starbucks® Discoveries Iced Cafe Favorites – Caramel Macchiato but feel free to pick your favorite (there’s Vanilla Latte and Caffé Mocha too!).
Doesn’t that look good? Now, we’re ready to trick it out.
First off, we’ll whip up a colorful and modern take on the classic cookie-wich.
Ice Cream Sandwiches
Ingredients (makes 6):
– 1 ½ cups Starbucks® Discoveries Iced Cafe Favorites ice cream (see recipe above)
– 12 sugar cookies or preferred cookie flavor
– ½ cup frosting
– 1 tablespoon sprinkles
Top six cookies with a dollop of frosting and a dash of sprinkles. Place a small scoop of ice cream on the remaining six cookies, and top with the frosted cookies.
Mmmm.
You’ve seen cupcake push pops, but what about an ice cream sundae IN a push pop?!
Ice Cream Sundae Push Pops
Ingredients (makes 6):
– 1 ½ cups Starbucks® Discoveries Iced Cafe Favorites ice cream (see recipe above)
– 2-3 bananas
– ¼ cup caramel sauce
– ¼ cup chocolate syrup
– ¼ cup whipped cream
– 6 maraschino cherries
– Supplies: 6 push pop containers
Roughly chop bananas and divide half amongst push pops. Drizzle bananas with caramel and chocolate sauce, and top with a scoop of ice cream. Repeat process and then top with whipped cream and a cherry, of course.
Dibs!
This is definitely our favorite creation of the bunch. It’s so simple, but oh-so-delicious.
Ice Cream Cupcakes
Ingredients (makes 6):
– 1 ½ cups Starbucks® Discoveries Iced Cafe Favorites ice cream (see recipe above)
– 6 cupcakes (any flavor)
Place a scoop of ice cream on each of the six cupcakes. Garnish with sprinkles and a candle, as desired, and serve immediately.
How awesome are those gold star sprinkles?
You can totally eat ice cream for breakfast… if you mix up an affogato like this ;)
Ice Cream Affogato
Ingredients (makes 6):
– 1 ½ cups Starbucks® Discoveries Iced Cafe Favorites ice cream (see recipe above)
– 1 ½ cups Starbucks® coffee (your choice), brewed very strong
Place a scoop of ice cream each in six small bowls and top immediately with hot, strongly brewed coffee or espresso. Serve immediately.
Freel free to a throw a few chocolate chips on top — we won’t judge.
And finally, a milkshake!
Ice Cream Milkshakes
Ingredients (makes 6):
– 3 cups Starbucks® Discoveries Iced Cafe Favorites ice cream (see recipe above)
– 3 cups milk (any type)
– Supplies: blender; striped straws
Place ice cream and milk in a blender and blend until smooth. Divide mixture among small-sized glasses and garnish with a striped straw, if desired.