Skinny Peppermint Mocha Frappe and Latte

It’s official   I have been bitten by the red cup!!  The red cup drove me in, and now I want more, more I tell yah!  But can I afford the calories?  Can I afford the cash?  The answer is no!  So what is a girl to do?  Well, make your own silly!!!

Oh Peppermint Mocha Frappe, so cool, creamy and so pepperminty.  Oh how I love thee….   But it’s cold out I want a hot latte.  But do I dare share two coffee recipes with you today?  Of course I do!!!

Ahhh, a hot peppermint latte.  Mmmm, coffee, chocolate and peppermint all together to make this skinny little package!!  It’s like a combination of peppermint hot chocolate and coffee.  How perfect is that?  Time to kick the red cup to the curb!!!

Ok, I’m only kidding, I wouldn’t actually kick the red cup to the curb!  I’m a gold member after all!!  I love Starbucks and it’s pretty apparent that I do, since I try to copy their wonderful coffee recipes!!  But one thing I don’t like about Starbucks is the calories!  So this past weekend I experimented on my two favorite holiday drinks.  The Frappe was pretty easy to make, but I made the latte a few times to get it exact.  Lucky for me, I could still taste my Starbucks, so I think I did a pretty good job at replicated their latte.

When I was out and about on Saturday I did my normal Target run and what I found was peppermint flavored whip cream.  It is 15 calories for two tablespoons, so I bought it.  I just need to limit myself on it.  Now don’t do what I did for the photos and add a ton of whip cream.  I kind went overboard, but it does look pretty!

Like the little candies?  I stole them from work.  I thought they would be pretty to go with my drink!   I made the frappe using xanthan gum to thicken it up and to prevent it from separating for photo purposes.  However the stuff thicken my drink up so much that I ended up with 5 cups.  If you make the drink and not use the xanthan gum, you should get about 2 cups or a little more.  Crazy how that stuff works.  Between you and I, I only use the xanthan gum so the drink doesn’t separate for my photos, otherwise I don’t use it.  But if your sharing your drink, use it!  You get more bang for the buck!

Lets do some comparisons to see how I compared to Starbucks Frappe.  I love to do these!

Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Frappe (venti) – Calories:  250,  Fat:  2,  Sodium:  310,  Carbs:  52,  Fiber:  4,  Sugar:  37,  Protein:  8

PB&P Peppermint Frappe (2 cups) – Calories:  44.7,  Fat:  .03,  Sodium:  63.6,  Carbs:  6.4,  Fiber:  .03,  Sugar:  6,  Protein:  4.3

Who loves ya baby?  I do!!!  The numbers speak for themselves!  Here is the recipe for the Frappe.

Skinny Peppermint Mocha Frappe

Nutrition Information

• Serves: 2 Cups

• Serving size: 2 Cups

Prep time:  2 mins

Total time:  2 mins

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Coffee blended with flavored peppermint extract, cocoa powder and nonfat milk.

Ingredients

• 1½ cups frozen coffee, partially frozen
• ½ cup non-fat milk
• 2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ - 1 tsp. stevia (to taste)
• ⅛ tsp. peppermint extract
• ⅛ tsp. xanthan gum (optional)
• Optional Toppings:
• Peppermint whip cream
• 1 dash chocolate flakes

Instructions

1. In a blender at all your ingredients, process until smooth.

Notes

Calories: 44.7, Fat: .03, Sodium: 63.6, Carbs: 6.4, Fiber: .03, Sugar: 6, Protein: 4.3

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One thing I found with both drinks is I needed to add more Stevia then normal.  So taste test it to see how much sugar you may need.  Also note that the Peppermint Extract I used is very potent!  I little goes a long way!!  You can thank Trader Joe’s for all of this!  It’s their coffee, there unsweetened cocoa powder and it’s their peppermint extract!  Yupper Doodles they carry peppermint extract now!!  Yah!!!  Look how cute the bottle is.  Oh and I updated my TJ’s page!

So how did I do with the Latte?  Now the calories are higher than with the Frappe because I used more milk, but basically the recipe is close to the same!!

Starbucks Skinny Peppermint Mocha Latte (Grande) – Calories:  130,  Fat:  1.5,  Sodium:  0,  Carbs:  17,  Fiber:  4,  Sugar:  13,  Protein:  13

PB&P Skinny Peppermint Mocha Latte (1 1/2 cups) – Calories:  90.9,  Fat:  1.5,  Sodium:  97,  Carbs:  14.1,  Fiber: 3,  Sugar:  9.4,  Protein:  8.1

I have to say our drinks are pretty comparable!  Mine is less calories, less carbs, less sugar, but also less protein and fiber.  But all in all not bad!!  Ok Starbucks I’m ok with your drink!

Skinny Peppermint Mocha Latte

Nutrition Information

• Serves: 1½ cups

• Serving size: 1½ cups

Prep time:  2 mins

Cook time:  3 mins

Total time:  5 mins

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A hot coffee made with cocoa powder, non-fat milk and peppermint extract.

Ingredients

• ¾ cup coffee, freshly brewed
• ¾ cup milk, non-fat
• ¼ tsp. peppermint extract
• 1 tbsp. + 2 tsp. unsweetned cocoa powder
• ½ tsp. vanilla extract
• 1½ tsp. stevia, to taste

Instructions

1. In a small sauce pan, add all the ingredients together and whisk until warmed and incorporated. Taste test it to see if you need to add more sugar.

Notes

Calories: 90.9, Fat: 1.5, Sodium: 97, Carbs: 14.1, Fiber: 3, Sugar: 9.4, Protein: 8.1

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I had fun with my weekend experiments   I am so glad I did this.  You may have noticed that I made a Peppermint Frappe last year, but this blows that recipe out of the water!  I like these two much better.

I sure hope you like peppermint!  I have lots of recipes that I want to make using my new found peppermint extract!  Peppermint is one my favorite things this time of year!!  What is your favorite holiday flavor?

Well my peeps, time for me to go, I feel like I have been writing way to long!

Have a great day!!

Toodles,

Jennifer

YAH!  My Drink was featured at the Weekend Pot Luck!  Thank you Betty!!  

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