One of my best friends from high school and I always try to get together during the holiday season. Last year, she drove up to my part of California to visit her mother-in-law for a mini-vacation, so she stopped by to see me early one evening while her hostess worked a little bit later than usual.
We met at a Starbucks just around the corner from my home, and after huge hugs in the parking lot, we walked inside to buy drinks and spend the next few hours chatting and catching up. She’s one of those people where I can go months—if not years!—without seeing, yet we pick up right where we left off and it only feels like a day or two has passed. Don’t you love friends like that?
Although I normally ordered plain black coffee and add just a touch of milk myself, I felt like something a little fancier to celebrate the holidays and chose a peppermint mocha instead. I slowly sipped the festive drink as we laughed and traded stories, trying to make both its rich taste and our visit last as long as possible!
This year, my friend came over for an even more exciting day… Fueled by coffee again, we spent all of Sunday decorating cakes! She worked in a bakery for many years and still dreams of opening her own specialty cake store one day, so I suggested that we take i am baker’s online cake decorating class on Craftsy together.
My friend brought a ton of buttercream she had mixed up the night before, and she even handed me my own rotating cake stand as a Christmas present! We spent the next few hours piping rosettes, ruffles, and pretty petals on the cakes I had baked for our decorating practice.
By the end of the day, we found frosting and cake crumbs in just about every nook and cranny of my kitchen, but we had so many new fun memories—and gorgeous cakes too! (If you’re interesting in learning more about decorating cakes, I highly recommend this class that we took!)
So in honor of my sweet friend—and because a little extra caffeine usually comes in handy this time of year—I’m sharing this easy 35-Calorie Peppermint Mocha recipe with you today! It has the same rich, chocolaty taste as the ones from the coffee shop, but it’s just a fraction of the price and you get to skip the long lines, too!
This quick recipe starts with unsweetened cashew milk. I absolutely adore it! Unsweetened cashew milk is thicker and creamier than nonfat milk, with a consistency closer to that of whole milk or light cream, yet it’s just 25 calories per cup. (Light cream has 30 calories per tablespoon!) For these reasons, I actually buy Silk’s unsweetened cashew milk more than nonfat milk, and it works perfectly in almost all of my baking recipes on this blog, too!
Next comes the most important part (well, in my chocoholic eyes, anyway.)… The cocoa powder! You’ll use a full tablespoon of it to provide a decadent chocolate taste for a fraction of the calories of melted chocolate or chocolate syrup. I recommend sticking with regular unsweetened cocoa powder, as opposed to Dutched or dark, because you’re adding so much that your fancy coffee drink will already have a rich dark chocolaty flavor.
You’ll sweeten this healthier mocha with my new favorite ingredient: vanilla crème stevia. Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that’s clean eating friendly, and it’s very concentrated. A little goes a long way! I buy SweetLeaf’s, which comes in a small bottle with an eyedropper, and you’ll only need a few drops. You can find vanilla crème stevia at many health-oriented grocery stores, as well as online. (And you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
To mix up your mocha, make double-strength coffee (or espresso, if you have one of those machines!), and while that brews, whisk together the milk, cocoa powder, and stevia in a small saucepan on the stove over medium-low heat. Microwaving it for a few short intervals and whisking in between works, too! Once all of the cocoa powder has dissolved, stir in a few drops of peppermint extract before pouring it into your hot coffee.
Then take a sip and…
Ahh. Pure bliss!
| 35-Calorie Peppermint Mocha | | Print |
- 1 cup (240mL) unsweetened cashew milk
- 1 tbsp (5g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 6-8 drops vanilla crème stevia, or to taste
- 4 drops peppermint extract, or to taste
- ¾ cup (180mL) double-strength coffee
- Add the milk, cocoa powder, and stevia to a small saucepan. Warm over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes or until the cocoa powder has dissolved and the milk is completely warmed through. Stir in the peppermint extract.
- Add the coffee to a mug, and pour the milk mixture on top.
I do not recommend using Dutched or “Special Dark” cocoa powder. One tablespoon of regular unsweetened cocoa powder already produces a fairly dark chocolaty taste.
Two shots of espresso may be substituted for the double-strength coffee.
{gluten-free, vegan, clean eating, low fat, low calorie, low carb, sugar-free}
You know, Trader Joe’s makes a coffee/cocoa blend you brew just like regular coffee. I’ll bet that would make this even better (or you could maybe just use that and leave out the cocoa powder). I will definitely be trying this!
Thanks for the TJ’s tip Catherine! I hope you enjoy the mocha!
I just made this using Teecino and it’s delicious. I’m pregnant so trying to it off the acidity as it trigger acid reflux. One question though… my peppermint extract doesn’t have a dropper so I poured a little in and used too much. How many teaspoons would you say is in 4 droplets
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Melissa! I love your idea of using Teeccino. I need to remember to try that sometime! 🙂 What’s the smallest measuring spoon that you have? I have a ⅛ teaspoon, and 4 droplets filled it about halfway. (Peppermint extract is really concentrated, so a little goes a long way!) If you don’t have a measuring spoon quite that small, another option would be to double or quadruple the recipe (using ⅛ teaspoon or ¼ teaspoon of peppermint extract, respectively), store the leftovers in sealed airtight containers in the fridge (I love mason jars for this!), and then reheat them to enjoy later!
Just letting you know that your site doesn’t work on my cell phone. Google pixel 2.
Thanks so much for letting me know Ana! What happens when you’re visiting my site? If you can email me screenshots and any additional information about what you’re experiencing, that would really help my team and me address the issues! 🙂
Wow! This looks so delicious! I often think about how much I love those sweet drinks, but I don’t really want all of those calories. I think this is a great alternative idea. Excited to try it!
Thanks Trista! I hope you like the mocha!
Powdered carob makes an excellent, very alkaline, and healthy substitutes for cocoa powder! Can find at health food stores or on line.
Thanks for sharing Janna. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try this peppermint mocha!
How do you get such amazing photos, Amy?
You’re so sweet — thank you Sandy!! I’m honored that you’d ask! 🙂 I share my photography tools here! I also share more about taking great photos in this blog post and this blog post. I hope that helps!
Any ideas how to make this iced instead of hot? I’m also going to try hot, but often enjoy iced, too. Thanks!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Ann! You can definitely drink this hot or iced! There are a couple of different options for making it iced. What I typically do is just make the recipe as written for a hot peppermint mocha and then pour it over ice. I’ve found that the cocoa powder incorporates better into the milk when it’s heated, which is why I usually do it that way! A second option would be to complete Step 1 ahead of time, store the milk mixture in the refrigerator in a jar or other airtight container, and then pour it into iced or cold brew coffee whenever you’re ready to drink your peppermint mocha. Do both of those options make sense? 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of this peppermint mocha too!
Love it hot! Just working on a batch that I made as if I were going to drink it hot, but am refrigerating it. This will be my go to to stave off my sweet tooth cravings!
I’m so honored that you’d call this your go to for sweet tooth cravings! That truly means so much to me Ann — thank you SO much for taking the time to let me know!! 🙂