Cinnamon Caramel Cream Cold Brew {Starbucks Recipe} - We are not Martha (2024)

Starbucks' Cinnamon Caramel Cream Cold Brew takes the typical caramel coffee and makes it even better with cinnamon caramel sweet cream cold foam. The iced coffee drink is also easy to make at home with this simple copycat recipe!

Who else gets crazy excited when Starbucks comes out with a new drink? The day they launched their Cinnamon Caramel Cream Cold Brew, I immediately ran out to try it.

And I liked it so much that I came home to recreate it myself!

At first, I thought the iced coffee drink sounded a little bit boring. Starbucks has lots of cinnamon drinks and lots of caramel drinks, so it wasn't like this was going to be some crazy new innovative flavor profile.

But when I tried it, I realized how perfect it is. We don't pair cinnamon and caramel together enough, especially with smooth and creamy cold brew coffee. The coffee shop compares it to the flavor of gooey stick buns and that's definitely spot on!

I'm not sure if Starbucks will be keeping this drink in their regular rotation... But I know it's going to be in mine!

🧋 What is a Cinnamon Caramel Cream Cold Brew?

Starbucks describes their new spring 2023 drink as "...Cold Brew packed with flavors of cinnamon caramel, topped with vanilla sweet cream cold foam and dusted with even more flavor for a special personal treat."

But it's interesting because when you look at the ingredient list, it calls out "cinnamon sweet cream" rather than vanilla and from the elements listed, it appears to be vanilla sweet cream with caramel cinnamon syrup mixed in.

So, I'm calling it cinnamon caramel cream cold foam and let me tell you, it is amazing! It's a fresh take on sweet cream cold foam and will likely become a fan favorite.

Also note that Starbucks makes this same drink as a velvety smooth nitro cold brew and it's also pretty perfect. I don't make nitro coffee at home, but if you do, you can certainly replace the cold brew with nitro cold brew.

❤️ Why you'll love this recipe

If you've tried and enjoyed the Cinnamon Caramel Cream Cold Brew at Starbucks, you're going to love the ability to make your own at home! And if you haven't tried it, I think you're going to be a fan of this homemade version.

As far as many of the copycat Starbucks drinks go, this one is actually much easier to make. It does require a syrup that is best when homemade, but once the syrup is made, you can keep it in your fridge so it's ready to go.

It also requires a cold foam, but you can make the cold cream in advance and turn it into a foam right before you want your drink.

🗒 Ingredients

Though there are a few different elements to this drink, there's nothing too complicated when it comes to the ingredients. Below is everything you need, but please be sure to check out the recipe card at the bottom of my post for ingredients amounts and full recipe instructions.

First you'll want to make a cinnamon caramel syrup. Cinnamon caramel isn't a super common syrup, which is why I choose to make my own, but if you prefer to purchase it, I recommend getting the Starbucks cinnamon caramel syrup (it's generally quite pricey to get the actual Starbucks syrups).

Or creating it by either combining caramel syrup and cinnamon syrup or mixing some ground cinnamon into caramel syrup. Keep in mind that caramel syrup is different than caramel sauce!

If you're making homemade syrup, here's what you need:

• Granulated sugar
• Water
• Ground cinnamon
• Vanilla extract

And here's what you need for the cinnamon caramel sweet cream cold foam:

• 2% milk
• Heavy cream
• Cinnamon caramel syrup
• Vanilla extract

Other than that, you just need:

• Cold brew: You can either make your own or you can buy bottles of Starbucks cold brew (or the brand of your choice)
• Ice
• Ground cinnamon and granulated sugar: for topping. This is what Starbucks refers to as their dolce sprinkles.

🫙 How to make cinnamon caramel syrup

Like I mentioned, caramel syrup is different than caramel sauce. Sauce typically has butter and cream in it and is thicker, while syrup is essentially sugar and water that's been caramelized. It's a simple syrup, but with caramel flavor.

I have a whole post on caramel syrup, but I'll show you how to make the caramel syrup with cinnamon here as well.

To start, put 1 cup granulated sugar and ½ cup water in a medium saucepan and bring mixture to a boil while stirring occasionally.

Once sugar has dissolved, let the mixture continue boiling without stirring.

Watch closely for mixture to turn a light amber color. It usually takes about 8-10 minutes for me, but it can go from light amber to being burnt very quickly, so be sure to watch closely.

Once mixture is light amber, immediately remove from heat and slowly and carefully pour remaining ½ cup water in. It will likely splatter and steam up, so stand back while pouring.

Add ground cinnamon and vanilla and stir well to combine.

Once you smell this syrup, you'll immediately know that cinnamon and caramel belong together!

But first, you'll want to store the syrup in a mason jar or heat-proof bowl and place it in your fridge to cool completely before using.

🥛 How to make cinnamon caramel sweet cream cold foam

The cold foam you use in the Cinnamon Caramel Cream Cold Brew is also quite easy to make at home.

Starbucks does use both vanilla syrup and cinnamon caramel syrup in their cold foam. I don't want to complicate this recipe too much for everyone making it at home, so I recommend using a little vanilla extract so you don't have to buy or make vanilla syrup as well.

But if you happen to have vanilla syrup on hand, you can replace ½ Tbsp of the cinnamon caramel syrup with it.

You can make the sweet cream ahead of time... And then turn it into cold foam right before you're ready to enjoy your drink.

To make the sweet cream, you'll just need to mix milk, cream, cinnamon caramel syrup, and vanilla extract (or syrup) together.

I like to put all the ingredients in a mason jar and shake. But you can also mix them together in a bowl.

This is your cinnamon caramel cold cream... Keep it in the fridge until you're ready to turn it into cold foam right before using.

To turn into foam, you can either use an electric frother, hand mixer, or blender. Alternatively, you can shake the mixture in a mason jar until it's frothy.

I like to use an electric frother on the cold foam setting.

Check out that cinnamon caramel cold foam!

☕️ How to make cinnamon caramel cream cold brew

Now that you have the elements of the drink set, you're ready to make your cold brew drink!

Pour your cold brew into an ice-filled glass. I use about 10 oz. of cold brew.

Pour in about 1 oz. (or 2 Tbsp) of cinnamon caramel syrup.

Now add in about ⅓ cup of cinnamon caramel sweet cream cold foam.

And top with a little cinnamon sugar mixture.

Starbucks calls this Cinnamon Dolce topping and the ingredients say it has some sort of extractives of butter (milk), but I don't find any other ingredient necessary at all. Cinnamon sugar is all you need.

This Cinnamon Caramel Cream Cold Brew is absolutely perfect as is! And I'm so thrilled that I can make it at home any time I want.

It's sweet and creamy, while still being bold and smooth. I love the caramel flavors with a touch of cinnamon.

Hooray for Starbucks' new menu drinks that you can also enjoy at home!

This coffee drink would pair perfectly with a nice big slice of this cinnamon bundt cake.

❓Do I need to use cold brew?

Starbucks makes their Cinnamon Caramel Cream Cold Brew with cold brew (of course!), but they also make the same drink with a nitro cold brew.

However, you can use regular iced coffee if you prefer. I do think cold brew's smoothness works well with the cinnamon caramel syrup and the sweet cream, but it's not a necessity by any means!

🍬 What if the drink is too sweet for me?

If this drink is too sweet for you, the solution is simple! Just use less of the cinnamon caramel syrup in the coffee. You can also use less in the cold foam, but it's easier to omit from the actual coffee.

Of course, if you want it sweeter, you can add more.

And if you want the iced coffee to be creamier or less creamy, adjust the amount of cold foam you're using.

⚡️ How much caffeine is in this?

According to Starbucks, there's 185 mg of caffeine in a grande size of the new Cinnamon Caramel Cream Cold Brew.

For reference, there's about 205 mg of caffeine in a grande cold brew with milk from Starbucks.

🎉 Variations on recipe

Though I like ordering and making this new menu item as is, there are also many things you can do to it to make it your own! Here are some fun ideas:

• Line the cup with caramel sauce before pouring in coffee.
• Add in a little bit of white mocha sauce for even more levels of sweet flavor.
• Add in some toffee syrup to make it taste like pecan cinnamon buns.
• Add a little salt to your cinnamon caramel syrup for a salted caramel flavor.
• Stir in some oat milk or coconut milk.

🧊 More Starbucks iced coffee recipes

I love making and drinking Starbucks cold brews and other iced coffees at home. Here are some of my favorite copycat recipes:

• Pistachio Cream Cold Brew
• Chocolate Cream Cold Brew
• Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew
• Chocolate Hazelnut Cookie Cold Brew
• Iced Apple Crisp Oat Milk Macchiato
• Iced White Chocolate Mocha
• Iced Toasted Vanilla Oat Milk Shaken Espresso
• Iced Sugar Cookie Almond Milk Latte

Be sure to check out my full list of Starbucks recipes!

I'm so excited that I can enjoy a Cinnamon Caramel Cream Cold Brew any time I want... It's quickly become my favorite drink of the spring and something tells me I'll be enjoying it straight through summer!

How do you like to enjoy your cold brew?

📖 Recipe

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