Healthy Homemade Peppermint Mocha
My friend (an employee at Starbucks) got me hooked on Starbucks’ Peppermint Mochas. They taste like hot chocolate rather than coffee, and the peppermint is just so refreshing. It’s starting to get cold here in Arizona, and sometimes, green tea just doesn’t cut it when it comes to warming up on your way to class.
Okay, that’s a lie. I just like chocolate and coffee 😉
But every time I stood in that infamously long Starbucks line, I was in a bit of a dilemma: should I get a fat- and sugar-laden peppermint mocha that will give me a sugar-rush and sugar-crash, or, get a Splenda-laden peppermint mocha?
I chose the Splenda-laden option (aka, “skinny” peppermint mocha) to save myself from the 500 calories, 18g of fat and and 68g of sugar. Oh yeah, did I mention I order ventis? 170 calories, 2g of fat and 18g of sugar sounded a lot better to me… until my friend told me that a skinny venti peppermint mocha has 12 pumps of syrup. I think a packet or two of Splenda may be okay on occasion, but 12 pumps in one drink is kinda over the top, don’t you think? And um, did I also mention that I was ordering these for about two weeks straight? Hey, I was having finals!
And who knows what kind of effect(s) 168 pumps of Splenda-syrup did to my body. That’s why I made this DIY coffee creamer. First of all, it’s Splenda-free, second, it tastes exactly the same as the Starbucks version, and third, I don’t have to wait in a long line with pushy, impatient, red-eyed students in dire need of caffeine!
Healthy Homemade Peppermint Mocha
Ingredients
- 3 tbs Dried Nonfat Milk
- 2 tbs Unsweetened Dark Cocoa Powder
- 3-6 packets Natural Sweetener (stevia, Truvia, etc.)
- 2 cups Hot Coffee
- 10 drops Peppermint Flavor
- 15 drops Liquid Stevia Extract
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to a blender and puree until smooth. Enjoy!
Now that my first semester is officially over, I can finally reunite with my family from across the country and relax with my Healthy Homemade Peppermint Mocha in hand. Haven’t had that in a long while…
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With love and good eats,
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– Jess
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Be sure to follow @DessertsWithBenefits on Instagram! If you try this recipe, make sure to snap a picture of it, tag me @DessertsWithBenefits, and hashtag #DessertsWithBenefits. I’d love to see it and feature you on #FanFaveFridays!
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Indulge − no strings attached!
Hi, Jessica! I’m busy ‘discovering’ all your recipes. I made this because I LOVE chocolate and mint together, AND coffee and chocolate, so why not ALL three together – a first for me.
I did increase the nonfat dry milk to 1/3 cup because I like my coffee more milky and used 1/4 t. peppermint extract because my bottle doesn’t do ‘drops’. It came out real nice, sooo I made a quadruple batch without the peppermint extract and put it in a glass jar for storage. I figure I’ll use 1/4 c. scoop per 2 cups coffee and THEN add the extract. That way I don’t have to mix it everytime I want another cup of mint chocolate coffee. Now, I’m off to try some more of your awesome recipes!
Louise 🙂
I know I keep posting as anonymous, but I don’t understand how to do the rest of that other stuff, so I’m stuck with this. As you should be able to tell, I am NOT part of the computer generation 🙁
GAH I LOVE PEPPERMINT MOCHAS!