Skinny Dark Chocolate Peppermint Coffee Creamer

 
Throughout our childhood, my brother and I woke up well before the sun rose on Christmas morning, but as a rule, we stayed in our bedrooms until 6 am. As soon as the minute hand ticked onto the 12, we dashed out to the family room to look at the fireplace for signs of Santa.  

A few moments later, we ran back to our parents’ room to wake them up. Once they had climbed out of bed, we headed back to our stockings, and while we waited impatiently for all of the adults to come into the room to look at their inner contents together (Santa normally stuffed everyone’s stockings with very similar things!), we looked at the bigger items he left under the mantle that wouldn’t fit inside.
 

 
Before sitting down to join us, Dad turned on his coffee maker to brew a huge pot (he and a few of our grandparents typically needed a little extra caffeine for waking up that early on a holiday!). Throughout the morning, he continued to refill people’s mugs while we tore wrapping paper off of gifts and squealed with delight.

Now that my brother and I are adults, we’ve started pushing back our Christmas morning gift exchange later and later. We rarely begin before 10 am (and sometimes even wait until noon or after!) to give everyone a chance to rub the sleep from their eyes, shower, and even squeeze in a workout if they feel like it.
 

 
However, the coffee tradition still remains the same, so I’m making a batch of this Skinny Dark Chocolate Peppermint Coffee Creamer for those family members to enjoy in their mugs on Christmas morning. It’s rich, creamy, and full of decadent holiday-themed flavor, but it’s only 5 calories!

I’m pretty sure everyone will drink to that! (And maybe even a second mug!) ☕️
 

 
This recipe is incredibly easy! It’s also perfect for making a day or two ahead because the coffee creamer needs to cool to room temperature and chill in the fridge before pouring in your coffee. (The fewer recipes I have to bake and cook on Christmas morning, the better!)

To whip this up, you just add all of the ingredients to a pot and whisk them frequently while cooking over medium low heat until they’re completely combined. Super simple, right?

So let’s quickly go over what those ingredients are!
 

 
You’ll use unsweetened cashew milk as your coffee creamer base. It’s thick and creamy, with a similar consistency to heavy cream, but it only has 25 calories per cup! (Compared to heavy cream with around 50 calories per tablespoon…) I actually buy unsweetened cashew milk more than cow’s milk these days, and it works perfectly in nearly all of my baking recipes too!

For the festive flavor, you’ll use cocoa powder and peppermint extract. Just regular ol’ unsweetened cocoa powder! We’re adding enough that you don’t need to use Dutched or special dark to get that decadent chocolaty taste.

To sweeten the coffee creamer, you’ll use one of my favorite ingredients: vanilla crème stevia. Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that’s clean eating friendly, and it’s highly concentrated. You just need ½ teaspoon for this entire recipe! This is the kind that I buy because I love its warm vanilla flavor and don’t notice any strange aftertastes like with some other stevia products. You can find it at many health-oriented grocery stores, but I always buy mine online here because it’s the cheapest price I’ve found! (And you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
 

 
Hello holiday coffee bliss! This creamer makes your morning cup taste just like a peppermint mocha… But for far fewer calories (and a much cheaper price!) than the ones at coffee shops! ??

And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your coffee creamer and feature it in my Sunday Spotlight series!

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You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♥   Skinny Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer
♥   Skinny Peppermint Mocha
♥   Skinny Gingerbread Latte
♥   Skinny Hot Chocolate
♥   Skinny Pumpkin Spice Latte