Christmas may be over but that doesn’t mean that all things peppermint have to go away. Right before Christmas I discovered that I do like coffee. Well, coffee that has plenty of stuff in it that makes it taste better. To keep from going broke at Starbucks buying Peppermint Mocha drinks I went to work recreating my new favorite drink. It took some trial and error but I think I’ve come up with the perfect Peppermint Mocha.
I really don’t know what made me want to order my first Peppermint Mocha Frappe at Starbucks but I was hooked after I tried it.
At $5 plus a drink and the number of calories in it I knew had to make my own. So I got to work and started researching. I looked up how Starbucks made the drink to numerous recipes on Pinterest. I compared and contrasted and then experimented. It took a few tries but I finally came up with the perfect drink.
This drink inspired one of my 12 days of Homemade Christmas recipes/gifts, the Peppermint Simple Syrup. The syrup is a key component of the drink. The rest of the components are very easy to customize to your personal taste and calorie needs. For instance, I have made it with 2% milk but prefer it with non-fat. I also make it with sugar-free chocolate syrup instead of regular. Whip and other garnishes or no whip. The drink can be made as a frappe or an iced mocha. That is just a matter of how much ice you want and if you want to break out the blender.
So far this drink is the only way i’ve braved trying coffee and so far I love it. I’m sure eventually i’ll branch out and try other drinks but for now i’ll just take a Peppermint Mocha.
What is your favorite way to drink coffee?
- ½ Cup brewed, strong coffee (unsweetened plain cold brew will work too)
- ½ Cup milk (preferred type)
- 1 Tablespoon Peppermint Simple Syrup
- 2 Tablespoons Chocolate Syrup (desired Type)
- Ice (2 cups crushed ice for frappe)
- *optional Whipped Cream*
- *optional-additional chocolate syrup for garnish*
- *optional- crushed peppermints for garnish*
- Place ice in large cup and add coffee, milk, peppermint simple syrup and chocolate syrup and stir well until chocolate syrup has dissolved.
- For Frappe- Crush 2 cups of ice in blender. Add coffee, milk, peppermint simple syrup and chocolate syrup to ice and blend until while combined. Pour into a large glass. Garnish with whipped cream and toppings if desired.