One look around my kitchen, and you would immediately realize that I’m coffee obsessed. I have two French presses, a cold brewer, a Chemex, a stovetop espresso maker and a Nespesso machine.

While I normally take my coffee with just a splash of milk or almond milk creamer, every once in awhile I like to make something a little fancier.

And from a look around this blog, you’d know that I’m also caramel obsessed (hello, caramel apple mule and caramel apple mug cake). So, it’s only natural that coffee + caramel is one of my love languages.

With this drink, I was going for something reminiscent of a Starbucks caramel brulee latte (similar to the caramel iced coffee I like to make, but hot).

Just like my salted caramel cream cold brew, this drink comes together in just minutes. The recipe as written below makes one serving, although you can double or quadruple the recipe for more servings, as needed, if you’re hosting a brunch buffet or something (don’t forget the sweet potato breakfast casserole!)

Or, make yourself a caramel coffee and my egg muffins recipe for a weekday breakfast on the go!

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Going through the drive through for a midday caramel iced coffee is one of life’s simple pleasures.

But the Starbucks near me usually has a huge line that spills out onto the road, the annoyance of every driver in the area.

Now, 90% of the time, I get a very good drink from the drive through. But 10% of the time, something seems to go awry. Either I can barely taste the flavor syrup or there’s wayyyy too much of it.

Well, 100% of the time, when you make fancy coffeehouse-style drinks at home, they will be perfect, and exactly to your specifications.

If you like it creamier or less creamy, you’re in charge. Just a touch of sweetness or so sweet you can barely taste the coffee? Want to decorate your glass with microwave caramel sauce? Hey, that’s your call.

I’ve been making my (hot) caramel coffee at home for years, and now I’m starting to branch out into iced drinks. This salted caramel cream cold brew recipe is my take on a Starbucks favorite.

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There’s a ton of memes out there about how you know you’re getting older. Like if you remember Saved By The Bell, it’s time to start using night cream. Or something like that.

For me, I knew I was getting older when I could no longer drink anything with caffeine after lunch time, or it would affect my sleep.

This made it harder to stop by my favorite coffee shop for a treat like caramel coffee while doing afternoon errands! Until I discovered the tea latte portion of their menu.

With all the warmth and comfort of a typical coffee latte, a tea latte is ideal for a decaf treat. I love something like this in the afternoon, maybe alongside a pear muffin or a oven baked apple for a little snack.

Tea lattes are also good at breakfast if you abstain from caffeine. It’s something comforting to sip on while you’re cooking bacon in the oven and waiting for it to be ready, or making ice cream French toast. It works equally as well alongside brunch food.

This cardamom tea latte spiked with vanilla bean is my homemade version of my favorite decaf coffee house drink.

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What is Affogato?

Affogatto is the Italian word for “drowned,” and the most traditional version is generally a scoop of vanilla ice cream or gelato with hot espresso poured over it.

I’m hoping more restaurants will take notice of how amazing affogato is, so it starts to become more widely offered in my area. Right now, it’s a pretty rare (and exciting) find on a restaurant menu.

Since I so rarely find it at restaurants, I figured the best thing to do would be to just take matters into my own hands and make a version at home.

I mean, after all, it’s just two simple ingredients. I don’t need a restaurant to make this affogato recipe for me!

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If you do an internet search for “caramel coffee,” it’s likely my recipe that comes up first, and I’m pretty proud of it!

I love making fancy coffee house style drinks at home, like my mocha hot chocolate, affogato coffee and cardamom tea latte, and teaching others how to do the same.

I hope that I’ve convinced you to whip up a batch of my caramel coffee syrup recipe by now.

Got that ready? Good. Let’s do this!

The post Caramel Iced Coffee Recipe appeared first on Foxes Love Lemons.

We all know that in the past year, life has changed in ways both big and small.

The extended time at home with my family feels safe and comforting, but sometimes it’s easy to let the mind wander to those small, previously mundane joys that we no longer partake in.

For me, a drive through caramel coffee or caramel iced coffee was a once-in-awhile special treat. Maybe it was a cheer-me-up on a hard day, or celebrating a big accomplishment. Maybe it was just a distraction from a long list of errands.

Whatever the reason, it’s no longer much a part of my life at the moment. I’m not out doing errands often. My car sits in the garage for long stretches at a time.

The spontaneity of that previous life no longer exists right now. And that’s OK. But like I said, sometimes the mind wanders to the before.

And in some small way, making this caramel syrup for coffee so that I could make myself those fancy coffee drinks at home made me feel normal for just a bit.

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I’m still at a loss for words when describing what a hazelnut tastes like. I honestly hadn’t tried a hazelnut (or anything hazelnut-flavored) until a few years ago, so it’s still a pretty new flavor profile to me.

When I Google “what does a hazelnut taste like?,” all I can find is that hazelnuts have a “delicate nutty flavor.” Gee, thanks. Personally, I think hazelnuts have a sweet, almost fruit-like quality with some nuttiness as well.

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You know what’s strange? The fact that I’ll drink hot coffee and cardamom tea lattes all year ’round, even on 100 degree days. It always feels right. Especially with a shot of my caramel coffee syrup recipe, or a scoop of ice cream for affogato coffee.

But hot chocolate? I’ve never even considered drinking it in the summer. I’m all about the caramel iced coffee, all the time.

Maybe it’s best that way. It gives you something to look forward to after being outside on a cold day.

It can be slowly savored knowing that it’s a special treat for just one season of the year.

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I start most mornings with a carrot cake smoothie made in my beloved Vitamix and a cup of coffee made in my beloved French press. The problem with this arrangement is the daily decision of which to make first.

Some mornings, it’s clear: I need coffee or the day can go no further.

Other days, I feel like having a nice big serving of fruits and/or veggies in a  lemon smoothie or blueberry lemon smoothie, and getting that out of the way for the day.

But as I’m drinking the smoothie, I’m usually like “but…..coffee….”

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I was snowed in for most of last week. Now, when I say “snowed in,” I don’t mean that I literally couldn’t get the doors open. I could. Although at one point, I opened the front door and a huge icicle fell within millimeters of my face.

So maybe even opening the door was treacherous. More so, my car was absolutely covered with snow and ice, my car battery wasn’t digging the cold, and the roads were a slick, icy mess.

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