An Edible Mosaic™

Everyday Fare With Extraordinary Flair

Skinny Vanilla-Peppermint Mocha Lattes {And a Chocolate Giveaway!}

by Faith 70 Comments

Skinny Vanilla-Peppermint Mocha Lattes

Chilly afternoons in December call for festive homemade lattes the way birthdays call for cake.

They just go.

Speaking of the perfect pair, peppermint and chocolate is another great combo, especially when it comes to holiday flavors.

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Gingerbread and eggnog are some of my personal festive favorites (here’s my recipe for gingerbread spice syrup for making homemade gingerbread spice lattes), but peppermint/chocolate ranks pretty high too. Plus this is what my niece always asks me for, so this recipe is for her.

Amid all the seasonal indulgence, it’s good to have a lighter, but still decadent-tasting treat in your arsenal for those days when nothing less than something sweet will do.

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I used skim milk to help put the skinny in my Skinny Vanilla-Peppermint Mocha Lattes, but it serves a double purpose here. Because of its higher protein content, skim milk also happens to be the best kind of milk for making milk foam (1% or 2% should also work though), which I use to replace whipped cream on top of these light lattes.

If you’ve never made milk foam at home before, let me tell you just how easy it is to do. I didn’t even know it could be done until a couple years ago when my mom made me the best chocolate cappuccino ever (homemade or not!) at home…and it was topped with a gorgeous layer of milk foam! There are tons of online tutorials, but in my recipe below I use The Kitchn’s method for making milk foam because it’s super easy and doesn’t require any specialized equipment. So get foaming! ;)

Because I get a lot of emails asking, just a quick note about instant espresso powder…I use Medaglia D’Oro, and for the biggest savings I like to buy it in bulk on Amazon. It’s also available in a 2 oz jar if you just want to try it out. Just a little bit of it adds another delicious level of flavor and complexity to baked goods and quick drinks!

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Print
Skinny Vanilla-Peppermint Mocha Lattes
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Yield: 4 servings
 
Ingredients
  • ¼ cup (115 g) Chocoley Fair Trade Organic 65% Dark Chocolate, chopped
  • 3½ cups (830 ml) skim (nonfat) milk, divided
  • 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder (use decaf if you want)
  • 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon pure peppermint extract (more or less to taste)
  • 1 pinch sea salt
  • 1-2 packets stevia or other sweetener to taste (see Note)
Instructions
  1. Melt the chocolate in a microwave or double boiler.
  2. Heat 3 cups of milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat until steaming and starting to bubble around the outside.
  3. Whisk the melted chocolate, espresso powder, vanilla, peppermint, sea salt, and stevia into the milk in the saucepan and heat until bubbling around the outside, whisking occasionally.
  4. Add the remaining ½ cup milk to a pint-sized glass jar; put the lid on and shake vigorously until doubled in volume, about 30 to 60 seconds. Uncover the jar and microwave until warm, but not hot, about 30 seconds.
  5. Pour the mocha into 4 mugs; top each with milk foam and serve.
Notes
Stevia or Other Sweetener: Instead of stevia, you can use any sweetener you like in this recipe, such as maple syrup, honey, etc. Here is a guideline on how sweet 1 packet of stevia is: the amount of stevia in 1 packet measures ½ teaspoon, which is about as sweet as 2 to 3 teaspoons of regular sugar.

:: GIVEAWAY ::

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you probably realized that I love Chocoley chocolate (check out my recipes for Deluxe Cake Batter Fudge and Grain-Free Salted Dark Chocolate Cookies that both feature Chocoley). I’m excited to be able to share this chocolate with you!

Chocoley Chocolate

Image courtesy of Chocoley.

Chocoley is giving away 3 (2 lb) bags of their Indulgence Ultra Couverture Dipping and Enrobing Chocolate (Semi-Sweet Dark) to 3 different winners! (Thank you, Chocoley!)

To participate in this giveaway, just leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite way to eat chocolate.

For extra entries, you can do any of the following (please leave a separate comment for each):

You do not need to have a blog to enter this giveaway. For shipping purposes, this giveaway is only open to U.S. residents. This giveaway ends on December 17, 2014 at 11:59 PM EST. Once the giveaway ends, the winner will be randomly chosen and notified via email. The winner will have three business days to respond with his or her mailing information, otherwise a new winner will be randomly chosen. Good luck to all!

Disclosure: I received the Chocoley products that I used in this recipe for free and they are providing the prize for this giveaway; as always, opinions stated are my own. This post contains Amazon affiliate links to products I believe in, which means that even though it doesn’t cost you anything extra, I will receive a small amount of money from the sale of these items, which helps me keep this site alive – thank you for helping to support An Edible Mosaic!

Comments

  1. Wendy says

    My current favorite way to eat chocolate is chocolate chia pudding! 1-3/4 c almond/coconut milk, 2T brown sugar, 2T unsweetened cocoa, 7T chia seeds. Mix, cover and refrigerate overnight. Makes 4 @ 1/2 cup servings.

    Reply

  7. Liz says

    I love this guilt free way to start the day! Perfect with my breakfast during the holidays!!! I love baking cookie with chocolate chunks :)

    Reply

  10. Amanda Paa says

    thanks for the tips on milk foam! our little hand one for it broke so now i know that i don’t have to buy a new one. can’t wait to try one of these mochas. My favorite way to eat chocolate is on it’s own, a good dark and creamy truffle. happy holidays!

    Reply

  15. Gretchen says

    Embarrassed to admit it, but my favorite is just eating top- quality chocolate chips from a small bowl while doing a crossword puzzle(dried sour cherries mixed in is nice, too!)

    Reply

  40. Nikki S says

    I love a Big Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie with some kind of twist (add pumpkin and cinnamon chips or coffee ganules or peppermint extract or ….)

    Reply

  47. Sarah Tennyson says

    My favorite recipe to make using chocolate would be making brownies with a good quality cocoa and chocolate bits. Looks like I am baking tomorrow

    Reply

  60. itzia says

    my favorite recipe is these chocolate cupcakes with mexican hot chocolate frosting made w/ chili powder, cayenne pepper, and cinnamon.

    Reply

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I’m Faith Gorsky, the writer, cook, and photographer behind An Edible Mosaic. My goal is to inspire you to get in the kitchen and try something new! Feel free to email me with questions or comments.

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anediblemosaic

❄️Buffalo-born + raised
☀️Florida-based
🍴Food✈️Travel📝Musings
📷Food stylist + photographer
📚Cookbook author
✨Lover of vintage things + good coffee
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