Coffee Granita

This is a great way to use up stale coffee beans or leftover coffee. Brew it up strong and then sweeten and freeze. From The Flavors of Sicily, by Anna Tasca Lanza.

Granita di Caffé/Coffee Granita

3/4 c. sugar
2 c. water
1 + 1/4 c. strong coffee

Dissolve sugar in water in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Boil for about 5 minutes until reduced to a light syrup. Stir in the coffee and let cool.

Pour the mixture into a shallow metal pan or ice cube trays and freeze for 2 or more hours. Every 30 minutes use a fork to break up the ice crystals.

Chip the granita into cups or mugs that have been chilled in the freezer. Top with whipped cream, cream, or milk.

coffee snow cream cones?

Found, in a Mennonite cookbook from 1976:

Snow Ice Cream

2 1/2 quarts of clean snow

1/2 c. milk or cream

1 t. vanilla

1 c. sugar

happy snow day

Snow days are the best days to relax in the kitchen with a cup of coffee and bake a dessert. It makes the house smell nice and you have something to show for yourself, since we all know how productive we are when we tell the boss we're "working from home today". I found this recipe several years  ago and it's become a staple for shabby-chic dinner parties and potlucks. It's a good way to use leftover coffee, there's not many ingredients, and it can be made ahead of time. The trickiest part is the bain-marie (water bath). You can serve it plain, with the suggested whipped cream, or with a powdered sugar decoration. (Put a doily or homemade paper snowflake on top and sprinkle away-- you'll get oohs and aahs from your guests when you bring it out.) You could also stick some frozen sweetened strawberries or raspberries in the blender and make a colorful sauce to drizzle on the plate before serving. 

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE CAKE 

Gourmet, February 1997