The holidays are almost here, and in some places there has already been snow. With the stress of 2020, many people have decided to decorate for the holidays early this year, and that’s ok.
While we’re decorating the Christmas tree and watching Christmas movies on TV, we might as well have the full holiday experience by sipping something that tastes festive.
We’re talking about coffee, but not ordinary coffee. We’re talking about super festive coffee that tastes like a limited edition seasonal beverage from your local coffee shop.
It turns out that those festive beverages actually aren’t hard to recreate at home. As long as you have a few basic ingredients on hand, like coffee, milk, and a few easy to find seasonings, you’re all set.
YouTuber Kallie Branciforte has been sharing pictures of her coffee creations on Instagram, and her followers have been asking for the recipes. While she doesn’t usually share specific recipes, she decided that she needed to make an exception.
Instead of just sharing 1 or 2 coffee creations, Branciforte shared 6 of her favorite festive coffee drinks. While she gives exact instructions and measurements, we love that she also mentions easy substitutions you can make to customize the beverage to suit your personal preferences and to use ingredients you already have in your home.
The first recipe that we learn how to make is the Gingerbread Latte, but really, this is a basic latte recipe that you can easily customize with whatever flavored syrup you like best. While gingerbread is perfect for the holiday season, you could use vanilla, hazelnut or even pumpkin spice if you prefer.
The next beverage is called Christmas Coffee. This is a great way to add festive flavor to an otherwise ordinary cup of coffee. You only need a few simple spices to make it taste like Christmas, and you can brew your coffee as usual.
If you prefer coffee cold, you might want to try the Maple Whipped Coffee recipe. This is an iced coffee drink that uses instant coffee. A hand mixer is highly recommended.
The next recipe is one of our personal favorites: Peppermint Mocha. Besides learning how to make our favorite winter coffee treat, we also learned how make it extra special by dipping our coffee cup in melted chocolate before pouring the beverage inside. We’re going to try this trick when we make hot chocolate for our kids too!
The next coffee recipe would be perfect for anyone in the family even if they don’t like coffee. The Spiced Vanilla Frappuccino is basically a milkshake with festive flavor added to make it special. You can leave out the coffee and serve it to your kids, or add coffee and get your sugar and caffeine fix.
The last coffee recipe is Spiced Cinnamon Sugar Cold Foam. The cold foam is what makes this coffee drink extra special, and there are multiple ways you can achieve the perfect foam depending on what kitchen gadgets you happen to have.
Watch the video below for the full recipes and to see the drinks come together before your eyes.
Which festive coffee drink are you going to make first? We’re torn between the Peppermint Mocha and the Christmas Coffee.