Have you recently cut your Starbucks or other gourmet coffee-bar habit to save some cash? I have, and found that even if I buy really good coffee beans, I save at least $20/week. But I wanted to make it special, so I sought out some good spiced coffee recipes and bought a little AeroLatte milk frother from Amazon.com for about $15. Adding spices instead of sugary syrups and frothing some low-fat milk makes your homemade coffee drink a lower-calorie treat, and you don’t have to stand in line! Invite a friend or two over for fancy coffee drinks and you’ve got a real coffee-bar ambience in your own house. I suggest dark brown sugar for sweetening–it adds a rich, caramel-y twist.
You can use a drip coffeemaker, a French press, or a stovetop espresso maker for any of these. I’ve tweaked these to produce 4 cups of coffee per recipe, so you may have to adjust for your coffeemaker.
Arabic Spiced Coffee
Measure 6 tablespoons of dark-roasted coffee into your filter. Add 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon and 6 cardamom pods that you’ve cracked gently by pressing on them with the back of a spoon. Fill coffeemaker with 4 cups of water and brew. Add heated, frothed milk and sweeten to taste.
Chocolate-Orange Coffee
Measure 6 tablespoons of ground coffee into your filter. Add the zest of one orange and two teaspoons of high-quality hot chocolate mix (I use Ghirardelli, Barefoot Contessa, or Bellagio). Fill coffeemaker with 4 cups of water and brew. (If you are using a method that involves steeping, remove the zest after a minute or so; it can make the coffee bitter.) Add heated, frothed milk (you can also froth some half-and-half if you’re not worried about the calories and fat!) and sweeten to taste.
Vanilla-Nutmeg Coffee
Brew 4 cups coffee. To each cup, add 1/4 teaspoon real vanilla extract. Grate a small amount of whole fresh nutmeg directly into the cup. Add heated, frothed milk and sweeten to taste.
Holiday Spiced Coffee
Brew 4 cups coffee. Mix 1/2 cup brown sugar (more or less, to taste) with 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, and 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg. Stir into coffee and top with fresh whipped cream.
