Will Work for Cupcakes : HELLO COFFEE!!!

I was excited to try this recipe out! There is nothing that gets me out of bed faster then knowing I have some coffee waiting for me. I like hot coffee but there is something just divine about iced coffee. Ever since we moved to Ohio from FL I officially said goodbye to ever seeing or feeling my feet again (oh flip flops we had such a friendship). So you can also imagine how I kissed iced cofee goodbye too. Today, however, I needed to feel a little touch of summer as I sit surrounded by the white powdery stuff I use to think I would never hate. So I got my blow dryer out to warm my feet up and shivered away as I sipped on my iced cofee thinking "can a day start off any better?!"

Let me tell you, this iced coffee recipe is a keeper! It's a little more time consuming then hot coffee but once you whip up a batch you will have a nice supply (if you can find room in your fridge) of this good stuff. I didn't realize just how big a batch it would make and will now be spending the next 30 minutes trying to figure out what to store it in (I don't own a dispenser yet and quit frankly don't feel like spending the $) and where in the world to put it?! Well, something will just have to give because I WILL be making room for my ridiculous amount of iced coffee. (I think I'll learn from this and halve the recipe next time...seeing as how I'm the only one in my household who will be drinking it).

Sigh..so delicious!

RECIPE:

-1lb of ground coffee, a good rich roast

-8 quarts cold water

-half & half

-sweetened condensed milk (2-3 Tablespoons per serving..yum!)

DIRECTIONS:

1) Place ground coffee into a LARGE container (I dirtied 3 trying to find one big enough)

I had to grind my coffee beans up ..a little time consuming but I had no other choice..iced coffee was the goal!!

This was the first container that was too small

And the second....

3rd time was a keeper!

2) Pour in the 8 quarts of cold water in with the coffee. Stir to make sure all the coffee grounds are wet.

3) Place the lid on the container and let it sit on the counter at room temp for 12-24 hours

4) Lay cheesecloth in a fine mesh strainer (I used scraps of fabric I had that was as similar to cheesecloth fabric as I could find. I've also heard you can use a clean pillowcase). Slowly pour the coffee mixture through the strainer into a clean container.

I did a small batch first to make sure my fabric worked like cheesecloth. It did, so I got to enjoy some iced coffee while finishing the job :)

It can get a little messy so I put some newspaper down to catch any drippings.

5) When you have finished pouring gently press the mixture with a spoon to make sure all the liquid goes through. Discard the cheesecloth with the grounds.

6) Place the dispenser or container of coffee in the fridge to cool.

7) To serve: fill a glass with ice and add tbe 2-3 tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk. Next pour the coffee into your glass

8) Splash in some half and half (or milk)

9) Stir to mix ...then drink away!

10) Keep coffee concentrate in the fridge tightly sealed...refill cup as needed ;)