They're here: the dog days of summer. If you're like me, you're craving fall (and Fair Trade Pumpkin Spice K-Cup® packs) like crazy. But we're not quite there. These last few weeks of summer's warmth and late sunsets are just the time to savor Green Mountain Coffee's Brew Over Ice flavors.

Around our house, we adore all the Brew Over Ice choices, from Nantucket Blend Iced Coffee to Strawberry Pomegranate Vitamin Burst™, but we decided to harness the inherent dessert qualities of Brew Over Ice Hazelnut coffee to make one last summery treat - Brew Over Ice Hazelnut and Cream Ice Pops! Just a few simple ingredients and one press of your Keurig® brewer's button will have you on the way to an indulgent sweet treat that's easy too. We love this novel approach to "iced" coffee. I can see making many more ice pops this way with all the Brew Over Ice flavors! I used my Zoku Pop Maker to create these ice pops, but you can use any ice pop mold you like. It'll just take longer to freeze each layer.

Green Mountain Coffee® Brew Over Ice Hazelnut & Cream Ice Pops

makes 4 ice pops

Ingredients

6 oz Green Mountain Coffee® Brew Over Ice Hazelnut coffee

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

6 oz Coffee-Mate Natural Bliss Vanilla Creamer

Directions

Brew one 6 oz cup of Green Mountain Coffee® Brew Over Ice Hazelnut coffee in your Keurig® brewer. Pour the cup into a small saucepan and add sugar.

Stir the coffee-sugar mixture frequently over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved completely. Pour the coffee back into a ceramic mug and place it in the refrigerator. Allow the coffee to cool completely before you make the ice pops. When the coffee is cool, use a measuring cup or funnel to pour coffee into each pop mold about 1/3 of the way up.

Place in the freezer and allow to freeze completely before starting the next layer.

When the first layer is frozen, repeat this step with Coffee-Mate Natural Bliss creamer, pouring it on top of the first layer, another 1/3 of the way up the pop mold. Place back in the freezer and allow to freeze completely.

Once the second layer is frozen, finish with another coffee layer.

If you'd rather have ice pops in a hurry, and don't care about the striped look, simply mix the coffee and creamer together and freeze all at once.

With summer now in full swing I must admit I have found myself struggling to keep my cool when it is 95 ̊degrees outside. Add to that 80-90% humidity and you have all the ingredients for a sweaty afternoon. This past weekend I developed a recipe of my own to add some refreshment to these seemingly endless days of heat of humidity. Drum roll please! Introducing the French Vanilla Coffee Gelato!  Please see the recipe below and let me know what you think! 

French Vanilla Coffee Gelato
 

1- Green Mountain Coffee® French Vanilla Iced Coffee K-Cup® pack on 4 oz. setting
1/2 C sugar
2 2/3 C milk - 2% or whole is best
2/3C heavy cream

• Brew K-Cup® pack on 4 oz setting.
• Add sugar and stir until dissolved.
• Measure out milk and cream and add cooled coffee to mixture. Mix well.
• Add mixture to ice cream maker. Prepare according to directions provided with your ice cream maker.

Enjoy!

 

Having survived our first 100-degree spell this summer, our iced machine has certainly earned its keep.  We’ve brewed, brewed, and brewed some more – and have stumbled upon some n’ice ideas to make this summer’s iced coffees – like Brew Over Ice Nantucket Blend® or French Vanilla -  even more brew-tiful.  Here are some of our favorites:

1. Vanilla Infused Simple Syrup: No sugar clumps and it adds an extra burst of vanilla flavor?  Yes, please!  Here’s how to do it:
   
   
   
   1. Split a vanilla bean lengthwise into halves and place in a heatproof jar or bottle.
   
   
   2. In a saucepan combine 1:2 ratio of sugar and water.
   
   
   3. Bring to a boil, stirring, until sugar dissolves.
   
   
   4. Pour the hot syrup over the jar/bottle and let it soak up the vanilla-goodness for up to 10 hours.
   
   
   5. Store in the refrigerator (up to a week – but it doesn’t last that long around here anyway).
   
   
   
   


2. Coffee iced cubes: Okay, you’ve heard us extol the wonders of this little cube before.  As Brew Over Ice coffee is made so the flavor won’t be diluted when the ice melts, this a great way to plus-up your coffee kick for those who have other coffee makers– or even add a different flavor to your go-to iced brew.
   
   
   
   1. Brew your favorite blend (love to use Fair Trade Wild Mountain Blueberry™ for this one) into a cup.
   
   
   2. Pour the coffee into an ice cube tray and place in the freezer.
   
   
   3. Pop the cubes out when you’re ready – just brew over it like you would with ice (Brew Over Ice (coffee cubes)).
   
   
   
   


3. Iced (cream) coffee:  Lots of people reach for cream and sugar when they make their iced coffee – so why not add a scoop of ice cream as a shortcut?  We love to use a scoop of Ben & Jerry’s Fair Trade Vanilla, or, if you’re into a adventure, Coffee HEATH® Bar crunch!