I absolutely LOVE the Dairy Queen Caramel MooLatte. What I DO NOT love, is the 590 calories it drags along with it. I've been on a smidge of a health kick as of late, and try to find alternate yummies when I can. I saw the Chocolate Silk at the grocery store and figured I could whip up something delicious with espresso as a nice little alternative frozen coffee drink. I was right!
This Faux-Latte is a nice little copy cat of the DQ MooLatte that uses NO ice-cream - no dairy at all! So it's also lactose free for those with sensitive tummies!
Gather the following ingredients:
1 Cup Strong Coffee (I chose Starbucks brand espresso roast) - cooled (use 1/2 Cup now, save 1/2 Cup for next batch)
1/2 Cup Lite Chocolate Silk
2 Cups Ice
2 Tbsp Sugar (Optional)
1 Packet Truvia (Optional)
1 Tbsp each Hershey's Chocolate Syrup and/or Hershey's Caramel Syrup (Optional)
Many of these are optional ingredients, as you will want to use per your taste.
STEP 1: Prepare the Espresso
I brewed 3 cups of espresso, and separated it into three 1-cup servings. I added 1 Tbsp of Hershey's Chocolate syrup to each 1-cup while the espresso was still hot. (50 Calories) I also added 1 packet of Truvia to each 1-cup. I wanted to make sure this was going to be sweet enough for me. I then set aside all of the chocolatey espresso except for 1/2 cup. I added 5 small ice cubes to the 1/2 cup of espresso to speed up the cooling process.
STEP 2: Mix!
Add the cooled chocolately sweet espresso (which is now only 25 calories, since we are halfing the 50-calorie 1-cup mix), 2 cups of ice, and 1/2 cup of Lite Chocolate Silk (45 calories). Add 2 Tbsp of sugar if you like (96 calories). I also added 1 Tbsp of Hershey's Caramel syrup at this point because it's the Caramel MooLatte that holds my heart. (If you're keeping track, that's 216 calories total)
STEP 3: Blend and Enjoy!
Here's the fun part! Frappe the heck outta this mess! Add any other fun flavors, flavored coffee, coffee creamer, syrups, etc to give it your own flair! My version of this recipe makes 2.75 cups of heaven - or 20 oz. Divide it out, into 16 oz, and you have a drink that's under 175 calories - as compared to the 16 oz DQ version, which is 590 calories! YIKES!! If you're not concerned with calories, add some whipped cream! Drizzle more syrup on top! Live it up!
Because I made 3 cups of espresso/chocolate mix at one setting, I have enough ammo for 6 Faux-Lattes in total! That's a week's worth of yums for around 1,000 calories - 3,540 if I went the DQ route! Not to mention saving around $3.00 each day!
I hope you enjoy this recipe!
