Whipping up a better-than-Starbucks homemade Peppermint Mocha!
One of my favorite holiday season traditions is to find a few great Christmas books like You Make It Feel Like Christmas by Toni Shiloh or All’s Fair in Love and Christmas by Sarah Monzon from my tbr pile and whip up a delicious homemade Peppermint Mocha. These two things combined give me the perfect excuse to sit by the fireplace, curl up with a cozy blanket, read the book I’ve put off for far too long, and make my favorite drink. The secret to the best peppermint mocha is good coffee, lots of chocolate, and just a dash of peppermint. This is my take on the Starbucks Peppermint Mocha with half the sugar content, perfect for this time of year.
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Cozy Homemade Peppermint Mocha Coffee Recipe With Book Pairings
Homemade Peppermint Mocha Latte
Coffee:
I like to use the Costa Rica blend from Window Seat coffee, however, any strong dark or medium roasted coffee beans will work (as long as they are not flavored) you can use what you have on hand.
Brewing: There are options for how you brew the coffee for the mocha.
The full coffee shop experience: If you want it to taste like what you would get at a coffee shop then you’ll want to brew up an espresso shot or two (depending on how much caffeine you like) however since most of us don’t have an espresso machine at home. Other options will taste just as good.
The Homemade Latte experience: When you make a latter at home you can use either coffee from a coffee maker or utilize your favorite French press recipe to make a good strong coffee brew.
Chocolate:
To make the Mocha chocolate use your favorite hot cocoa mix if you want an easy option, or my favorite, is to mix cocoa powder, some sugar, and *milk to make a scrumptiously chocolate concoction.
I like using a good Dark Chocolate, Semi-Sweet Chocolate, or Unsweetened Cocoa Powder. If you want to get more fancy with it, shave off little swirls of chocolate to really bring out the chocolate flavor.
*Either Almond Milk, Oat Milk, Coconut Milk, Cows Milk, or any Milk substitute will work.
Peppermint:
In this recipe, I used just a little bit of a simple peppermint syrup (extract) to add to the scrumptious chocolate concoction. Just adding a dash of this is enough for the whole drink as you don’t want to only taste peppermint in the drink; rather you want the peppermint flavors to be a compliment to the Chocolaty tones. Plus if you add bits of peppermint candy to the top it feels more festive too!
*An easy twist on this recipe is to add Vanilla extract instead of peppermint for a Vanilla Mocha Latte!
Whipped Cream:
Many people love adding a whipped cream topping to their coffee, while I don’t do it often. I find it a fun way to get barista-quality looks.
Milk: Oat milk or Coconut Milk are my go-to options, though I know many people prefer Almond Milk, heavy cream, or Regular milk for their naturally sweet and creamy textures.
Use a milk frother or hand mixer to blend the milk and 1 tsp of sugar until fluffy. Then sprinkle Chocolate chips or Candy Cane on top.
Peppermint Mocha Latte
Equipment
- French Press
- Coffee Mug
- Milk Frother/Electric Mixer
Ingredients
- 2-3 TBSP Granulated Sugar
- 1 TBSP Coco Powder* You can use a hot chocolate mix as well instead of cocoa powder
- 1/2 TSP Peppermint Extract
- 4 TBSP Hot water (or Alternative Milk of Choice)
Instructions
Start off by brewing your coffee in whichever method you choose. While that’s brewing, start out by making the peppermint chocolate simple syrup. Bring the water to boiling in a small saucepan. Then in a mug or bowl measure out the cocoa powder*, granulated sugar, and peppermint extract. Once water has reached a boiling point add to measured ingredients and mix well. (Congratulations, you've now made a Peppermint Mocha Syrup!)
- If the mixture seems too thick you can add a bit more water to it.
Once you have that all mixed, add your brewed coffee mixture. Depending on the size of your mug (I used a 10oz mug) I added about a ½ cup of coffee. Mix coffee and peppermint chocolate syrup together. Add milk** and top with whipped cream and enjoy 😊
- * Easy way: Hot Chocolate mix. Other Options: Dark Chocolate, Semi-Sweet Chocolate, or Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- **Almond Milk, Oat Milk, Coconut Milk, Whole Milk, or any Milk substitute will work.
Books that Pair well with this delightfully Cozy Peppermint Mocha:
Three of my recent favorite Christmas Books have been Toni Shiloh’s You Make It Feel Like Christmas:
It’s the most wonderful time of the year–for everyone except Starr Lewis.
As if going home for the holidays jobless and single wasn’t bad enough, she’s dragged into a holiday season full of activities leading up to her sister’s uber-romantic Christmas Eve wedding–to Starr’s ex-boyfriend. But when her brother’s best friend, Waylon Emmerson, attends their family Thanksgiving, she starts to wonder if maybe coming home for Christmas isn’t so bad after all.
As Starr finds the perfect distraction in helping Waylon make over his late mother’s Christmas shop, the most wonderful time of the year works its magic and the spark between them grows. But with the holidays fast approaching, Starr must decide what she wants out of life after the gifts are unwrapped and the ornaments are put away–to go back to New York City or to open her heart to a love that will last beyond Christmas Day?
Jess Mastorakos, A Royal Christmas For The Marine
Surprise! I’m a prince.
As the heir to the throne of a small country, I was shocked when my younger sister decided to leave her royal life behind and move to America. Like any good big brother would, I started digging to see what she was up to.
Somewhere along the way, I found myself chatting with the woman of my dreams on a new dating app. She’s smart. She’s funny. And she’s about to get out of the Marines after serving for eight years.
The only problem is, she doesn’t know I’m a prince.
Now I’ve come to America to tell her. Hopefully, she doesn’t freak out.
And Sarah Monzon just really made me smile with her book All’s Fair in Love and Christmas
Two workplace rivals. One festive competition. And a romance that upends it all.
Every December two things are guaranteed for graphic designer Mackenzie Graham–Christmas celebrations and the annual promotion at her workplace. Those two things are by no means mutually exclusive. In fact, the better an employee is at harnessing the Christmas spirit, the more likely they’ll win the new job. With her social anxiety, Mackenzie never thought she’d be a contender in her company’s holiday competition, so how exactly has she found herself dueling her workplace crush with wrapping paper tubes and using tinsel as her weapon of choice for a much-needed raise?
Jeremy Fletcher’s life is meticulously planned out, including how to win this year’s promotion at work. Not only will the new position fulfill some of his career goals, but as a single guardian to his twin niece and nephew, he needs the salary increase to support his family. Jeremy has barely noticed Mackenzie Graham around the office, but now that she’s his rival, he can’t stop thinking about her. Her quirkiness intrigues him, and he’s afraid that if he can’t get his head on straight, the promotion isn’t the only thing he’ll end up losing to Mackenzie.
If you like contemporary romance be sure to check out some of my recent 5 star reads!
