Starbucks Peppermint Hot Chocolate Recipe

We simply love Starbucks Peppermint Hot Chocolate. We’d drink it every day if we could. But that said, it would be bound to get a little expensive. However, we’ve come up with a great way of saving money. We make peppermint hot chocolate at home, and it is just as good as the Authentic Starbucks version. We will show your our secret Starbucks recipe, so you too will be able to make it yourself. Keep a lookout for our tips and tricks to get a perfect result every time.

How To Make Starbucks Peppermint Hot Chocolate

The key to this recipe is in the syrup. It might take just a little time to prepare, but once you have done so, you’ll be able to whip up a Starbucks peppermint hot chocolate in next to no time.

If you’ve ever had a Starbucks peppermint hot chocolate, you’ll know that it is really rich and delicious. There’s a good reason for this. They use real chocolate, and we do the same. No pre-powdered drinks mixes here, thank you very much.

As long as you have a pan, a spoon, and a mug, you’ll have everything you need to make our Starbucks Peppermint hot chocolate recipe.

We begin by making our syrup. Once we’ve created a batch, it is then simply a case of heating some milk in a pan and combining the various ingredients before finishing off our hot and steamy beverage with a small (ok large) dollop of whipped cream some chocolate shavings. We love it when the cold whipped cream starts to melt into the drink.

Check out our tips and tricks below.

Starbucks Peppermint Hot Chocolate

5 from 5 votes

Recipe by Laura Ritterman Course: DrinksCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

1

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Cooking time

10

minutes

Calories

310

kcal

This copycat Starbucks peppermint hot chocolate drink is the perfect drink at the end of a tough day. You’ll enjoy every last drop.

Ingredients

• For the syrup

• 1 cup 1 sugar

• 2/3 cup 2/3 water

• ½ tablespoon peppermint extract

• Peppermint Hot Chocolate

• 1 cup 1 whole milk (or dairy-free alternative)

• 2/3 cup 2/3 heavy cream

• 1 cup 1 chocolate chips (or 1 smashed chocolate bar)

• 2 teaspoons 2 peppermint syrup

• 1 tablespoon 1 whipped cream

Directions

• For the Syrup
• In a small saucepan, add the sugar, water, and peppermint extract. Stir well until combined.
• Place the pan on medium heat and constantly stir until the liquid starts to thicken and bubble slightly. It is ready when it changes to a really pale straw color.
• Allow your syrup to cool and then transfer to a sealable container or bottle.
• To Make Starbucks Peppermint Hot Chocolate
• Take a small saucepan and combine the milk, cream, and chocolate. Place over medium heat and constantly stir until the chocolate begins to melt.
• Add in your peppermint syrup and continue to stir until the chocolate has melted entirely.
• Pour into a large mug or thick glass and top with a dollop of whipped cream. Grate any remaining chocolate over the top to garnish.
• Serve and enjoy

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Tips and Tricks

• As we’ve said, Starbucks uses real chocolate in their recipe, and we do the same. We prefer to use chocolate chips. They tend to melt quicker as they have a bigger surface area than a bar of chocolate. That said, if you don’t have chocolate chips, you can use regular chocolate too.

• If you are using regular chocolate, we find the quickest (and cleanest) way to break it up is to store it in the refrigerator and give it a good whack on the counter to break it into tiny shards.

• You can add a bit of variety to this recipe by using different types of chocolate. You can use dark chocolate, light chocolate, or for a real indulgent treat, why not try adding a bar of white chocolate?

• If you don’t have whipped cream, don’t panic. It is entirely optional. The drink will taste pretty similar without it, and it might be a little bit lower in calories too!

• We love a drink that tastes great, but we want it to look good too. You can garnish the top using plain old sprinkles if you prefer. For a really classy look, we like to reserve just a little chocolate and then grate it over the top just before serving.

• We appreciate that not everybody wants to drink dairy. It’s ok, we get it. If you want to use a dairy alternative in this recipe, go right ahead. We have tried it with soy milk, almond milk, and even coconut milk. It will taste pretty similar regardless of which alternative you use.

• When heating the milk, you have to be really careful not to use too high heat. Milk boils at a much lower temperature than water. If you ‘overcook’ the milk, you may find that it will stick to the bottom of your pan, brown, and then burn. Even worse is if this lump of burned milk makes its way into your drink. Yuck!

• You’ll be able to see when the milk is up to temperature. Just look for tiny little bubbles rising to the surface of your pan. It kind of looks like the milk is ‘fizzing’. When it reaches this stage, it is up to temperature.

• If you are stuck for time or lack the ingredients, you can use shop-bought peppermint syrup. We find it much more rewarding to make our own, and we think it tastes better. Shop-bought peppermint syrup won’t drastically alter the recipe. However, if you have some, go right on ahead and use it.

Conclusion

Making Starbucks peppermint hot chocolate is no harder than making a regular coffee when we think about it. It’s maybe not quite as waistline-friendly however! This drink is really rich, we double dare you to drink more than one! Thanks for reading, we really hope you enjoy it.