DIY Chick-fil-A Iced Coffee

"First I drink the coffee, then I do the things."

I absolutely love that quote, don't you? Coffee is what gets me going in the morning and helps me move my morning routine along. As soon as I get up, you better bet I'm trying to find a mug or a cup to make myself some coffee. To be quite honest, I don't discriminate against any form of coffee either - iced, blended or hot, I love them all just the same. What I love even more than home brewed coffee however, is coffee from my favorite coffee shop or fast food restaurant. My husband and I frequent Dutch Bros. way too often than we'd like to admit, and that's where I tend to consume most of my coffee. However, one of my all time favorite coffees comes from a fast food restaurant - Chick-fil-A! In our house, we are always game for some good 'ole Chick-fil-A. We love their chicken biscuit sandwiches, and their spicy chicken deluxes, but let me tell you, one of my favorite things that Chick-fil-A makes, is some seriously tasty iced coffee. Their vanilla iced coffee is my favorite fast food coffee, and it even comes close to Dutch Bros. coffee for me; it's scary how delicious their coffee is. Chick-fil-A cold brew coffee is my ultimate guilty pleasure.

Sadly enough though, my husband and I live an hour away from the closest Chick-fil-A, so we don't go very often. Plus, it's unlikely I could talk my husband into a trip to Chick-fil-A just for an iced coffee. So, in an attempt to save money and time and gas, I decided to make my own Chick-fil-A iced coffee! It tastes delicious and is super easy to make. Here's what you'll need:

- Instant coffee
- Heavy whipping cream or half & half
- A large cup (because we all like our coffee large and in charge)
- Ice
- Vanilla simple syrup
- A straw
- A spoon

I adore a vanilla kick in my iced coffee, so I make my own vanilla syrup to add sweetness and a little extra flavor. However, if you wanted to simply use sugar-free vanilla syrup or vanilla syrup from the store that would work just as well. Before we get started on the coffee, here is my recipe for vanilla simple syrup:

1. Mix 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water in a small pot. Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
2. Once the sugar is dissolved, stir in 1 1/2 tsp of vanilla.
3. Once cooled, you can pour the simple syrup into a mason jar and stick it in the fridge - it will last for about 2 weeks in the fridge.

Now that you have my recipe for the vanilla simple syrup, let's get to the good stuff...the iced coffee recipe!

1. Heat 4 oz of water and stir in 1 tbsp of instant coffee. I like to make my coffee really strong for this recipe only because you will lose some of the coffee taste once you pour it over the ice and the ice begins to melt.
2. Pour your coffee over a cup full of ice and stir together.
3. Pour in as much half & half or heavy whipping cream as you like - I like my coffee pretty light so I pour in a generous amount.
4. Pour in as much of the vanilla simple syrup as you like - however much you put in will determine the sweetness, so be careful not to get carried away and pour too much in and end up with a wickedly sweet drink.
5. Stir and enjoy!

There you have it - that's my DIY Chick-fil-A iced vanilla coffee. It's the perfect drink to start your morning off right and keep you going throughout the day.