I didn't start drinking coffee until I was in my late 30s, mainly because I didn't care for the, uh, well, bitter taste in coffee. I've always liked coffee-flavored foods, though, so I finally figured out that if I made coffee sweet and creamy enough, it would be good, right? Right!
I discovered that I did like Starbucks'
Mocha Frappuccino®s, so a few times each year, we'd buy one for each of us. They're not cheap, you know! Our girls like them, too, although we did find out that in our area, we can buy Dutch Bros.' frozen mocha coffee drinks at about 1/3 less price than Starbucks' beverages in our area, and they are almost just as good, if not as good.
Eventually, we bought a powdered mocha mix from Costco and began making our own frozen blended drinks once a week in the blender at home. They taste okay, but are definitely not like Starbucks or Dutch Bros.
Last week while enjoying some out-of-town guests in our home, I found two recipes for mock mocha frappuccinos. I have tried one of them so far, and it was very, very good and about as close to Starbucks as you could get without driving there yourself. I'd like to try the second recipe this weekend, too, though, because one serving has about half of the calories of the recipe I'm posting here for you.
My family should not be drinking a full-calorie beverage like this every morning, but for those of you who are able to do that, I think you will love this money-saving recipe! You will find that by making this particular liquid "mix", you will spend the equivalent of ONE Starbucks frozen beverage in ingredients, but your "mix" will be able to make at least ten to twelve 8-10 oz. glasses of mocha frappuccinos. That is a big money saver for those families and individuals who are trying to be more frugal with the frills of life.
And face it, mocha frappuccinos are a "frill." Not a necessity, although some people think so.
Basically, there are two methods of making your mix. Both versions seem to work equally well and will taste great. Just use the version which you prefer. You'll be storing the liquid "mix" in a sealed container in the refrigerator, and whenever you would like a mocha frappucinno, you can pour 8-10 oz. of the liquid mix into your blender with an equivalent amount of ice, and you will have a freshly made frappuccino!
Mock Starbucks Frappuccino:
- 3 cups espresso coffee (or just strong coffee)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 4 cups milk (I used half cream, half milk, because then it doesn't separate after being blended)
- 3/4 cup chocolate syrup
- whipped cream for topping (if desired)
- chocolate for topping (if desired)
- ice
Make strong coffee (espresso style), double or triple strength. Chill in refrigerator overnight or until cold. If your blender will handle the full recipe, add first 4 ingredients to blender and blend thoroughly.
My KitchenAid blender will handle 56 oz. of liquid, so this seems to work out well. Otherwise, blend the ingredients in a large bowl and then pour half batches into the blender to mix well. Or, simply make one half batch and combine it all in your blender.
This is your basic mix, and it should make at least ten 10 oz. mocha frappes. Keep mix stored in the refrigerator, but only as long as you would safely store milk or cream. When you are ready for a mocha frappe, combine 1 cup (8 oz.) mocha frappe mix (per person/serving) with 1 cup or so of ice (per person/serving), and blend well in blender. Pour into glasses. Top each glass with whipped cream and drizzle with chocolate syrup, if desired. Serve. Original recipe: The original recipe said to blend the hot, fresh coffee and the sugar in your blender until the sugar has dissolved. Add milk/cream and chocolate syrup and continue mixing, about one minute. Pour mix into a heatproof container to chill in refrigerator. After chilling, store it in a sealable container in the fridge, but only as many days as you would normally store milk or cream. To make the beverage, combine equal parts of mix and ice in a blender, and blend on high until smooth. Pour into glasses; top each glass with whipped cream and drizzled chocolate syrup, if desired. Serve. Other options: 3 Tbsp. of cocoa powder dissolved into 1 Tbsp. of warm or hot water should be the equivalent of 1 Tbsp. chocolate syrup. So, for the large batch of mocha frappe, you would combine 2-1/4 cups cocoa with 3/4 cup warm water; frankly, even though this would be lower fat, I think it would be more expensive. That's a lot of cocoa powder!
Well, I can say that everyone who tried our little mocha mix frappuccinos seemed to really like them! While we won't be serving these frequently, due to the calories, we will be enjoying this recipe occasionally. I really like the way I can spend around $4.00 or less for the main ingredients, and end up being able to make $40+ worth of mocha frappuccinos! I just love this frugal idea! If you give this a try, please leave comments below and let us know what you think about them! Thanks.
