Coffee Drinks

With this most recent storm swirling around the San Francisco Bay Area, I had to resurrect a few more of my delicious recipes from last fall that always warm me up/cheer me up...

Everyone knows that I'm a huge sweets fan, but I'm also a huge coffee fan. So, I was so excited to able to participate in the FoodBuzz Tastemaker program with Godiva Coffee and it's seasonal flavored coffees. This created a wonderful excuse to have a few close friends over to share my two favorite fall drink. (Please excuse the pictures, it was later in the evening in my small Nob Hill apartment with terrible lighting...)

Ingredients and equipment for both fall coffee drinks

Coffee + liquor = silly faces

The first drink comes from my dear friends, the Leonard Family. They share this hot, caffeinated adult beverage with everyone up at our summer weekend get-away spot; a permanent campsite community in Northern California where we all waterski, wakeboard and enjoy each others' company during cocktail hour. Careful, these can knock you on your behind ;)

To make two servings of coffee drinks, combine:
1.5 oz brandy
1.5 oz Kahlua
1.5 oz Irish cream
8 oz Godiva Caramel Pecan Bark brewed coffee


Now that I'm getting older and caffeine seems to have more of a negative effect on me when consumed late-night with liquor, I often make it with 1/2 caf. or decaf. coffee and it's just as delicious.

This second drink gets me through the colder fall months just as well because pumpkin-anything is the best, but it is truly a seasonal ingredient.

To make two servings of pumpkin spice milkshakes, with a blender combine:
3/4 cups canned pumpkin pie mix
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup strong brewed Godiva Pumpkin Spice coffee, cooled
2 cups French vanilla ice cream

For a lightened up version, replace the pumpkin pie mix with canned pumpkin, use nonfat milk and replace the ice cream with light french vanilla ice cream or vanilla frozen yogurt.