Copycat Starbucks Iced Caramel Macchiato

cassclay

5 years ago

Here we are, another day, another copycat coffee. Playing around with these drinks has been a saving grace for me during this period of social distancing. As our one year old has gotten busier and napping less, I am getting less time to do more involved recipes, but the great thing about drinks like this is that they take very little time to prepare! Besides the typical mocha chip frappuccino, the first drink that really lured me into Starbucks (long before cold brew was a thing) was macchiato. The iced caramel macchiato was one of my favorites until I tried the cinnamon dolce. But this post is a copycat Starbucks Iced Caramel Macchiato.

An iced macchiato is made very similar to an iced latte, but the latte can be made with strong brewed coffee if you don’t have espresso powder or instant coffee. In this I haven’t really enjoyed the taste of cold brew or strong brewed hot coffee, but you could always try it if you don’t have anything else. The nice thing about instant coffee powder is that it dissolves instantly so you can make it without turning on any appliance. If you don’t have the caramel syrup, you can make that at home with a small saucepan, sugar, and water.

What you’ll love about this copycat Starbucks iced caramel macchiato?

It’s vegan friendly. Use a non-dairy milk of you choice and you have a vegan version of this delicious Starbucks favorite.
Social distace. Stay at home and make this in the comfort of your own kitchen. Without the prep time of the syrup, it only takes a couple of minutes to whip up. Bonus, you get to stay in your pajamas!
Save money. Rather than spending $5 on a drink at coffee, you can enjoy a coffee for less than $1 per serving without leaving your home.
Customize the sweetness to your liking. The recipe states a certain amount of syrup, but feel free to add more if you prefer a sweeter beverage.

How to make this copycat Starbucks iced caramel macchiato?

If you don’t have the syrup already made, you’ll want to do this first. Start by heating sugar in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.
Make sure to stir the sugar as it is heating to prevent it from burning. Also do not rush it as the sugar can burn easily.
As the crystals dissolve, stir the sugar and allow it to turn golden brown. Once they’ve all dissolved you will add the water. Be careful when you add the water, it’ll sputter.
Unless you add really hot water, it will cause the sugar to solidify some so continue to heat the contents of the saucepan until the sugar dissolves again.
Once it’s all dissolved, remove from the heat and place in an air tight container. This can be stored in the fridge for a week (or more, but it never lasts that long in our house).
To make the macchiato, you’ll first want to get the espresso shots or instant coffee dissolved. Start by mixing instant coffee together with water. Make sure all crystals dissolve. If you don’t have instant coffee or espresso powder, you can either make your own espresso shots at home, or try a really strong brewed coffee/cold brew concentrate.
Add 1.5 tbsp of the caramel syrup to the bottom of a glass followed by the milk. Fill up to almost the top with ice, and then pour the espresso over.
Mix it up and enjoy! If you have an ice cream syrup (like the ice cream topping) at home, feel free to drizzle it over the top. Also you can add more caramel syrup to taste if it’s not sweet enough.