Don’t blow your holiday budget on expensive coffee drinks from Starbucks and The Coffee Bean.  It’s ho-ho-horrendous how much they charge.  You can make those same delicious pick-me-ups at home for about 1/4 the price.  Here’s a couple of my favorite homemade holiday coffee drinks. I ho-ho-hope you like them!

Peppermint Mocha Frappe – At Starbucks, they call this one a Peppermint Mocha Frappuccino.  The one at the Coffee Bean is called an Ice Blended Peppermint Mocha.  The beauty of this homemade version is that you make the components ahead of time as ice cubes and then blend anytime a craving hits you.  Get the recipe right here.

Christmas Cocoa Cappuccino – This is a cross between an Eggnog Latte and a Mocha Cappuccino.  Espresso-strength coffee is infused with chocolate syrup which is then layered with eggnog-infused frothed milk.  Get the recipe here.  You might want to also check out the Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies pictured above.

Gingerbread Latte – Big name coffee shops use special gingerbread syrups to make their concoctions.  I use ginger, molasses and other simple ingredients you probably have in your cupboard. Get the recipe here.

Also Try:

Christmas Coffee

This is basically homemade hot cocoa mixed with coffee.

Get the recipe here.

Eggnog Coffee

The simplest holiday coffee drink.  Just use eggnog as creamer.

Get the recipe here.

Special Equipment Used For This Article:

To make espresso-strength coffee, I used the Ninja Coffee Bar.  You can read my review of that product right here.  To blend iced coffee drinks, I use the Nutra Ninja.

Yikes!  I love going into Starbucks, especially during the holidays.  I love the smell of coffee in the air.  I love seeing relaxed people getting jacked up on caffeine.  I love everything… except the prices. $3.50 for a Cafe Latte. No more, my friend.

This week I’ve been exploring making specially coffees at home.  I don’t have any fancy coffee making equipment.  I wanted to see what I could do with stuff most people have in their kitchens.   The beverage you see in the pictures is a Homemade Cafe Vanilla.  I liked it.  It tasted great and gave me coffee house satisfaction for one tenth the price.  If you have a coffee maker and a blender, you can make it yourself.

Here’s the recipe:

Cafe Vanilla

Bonus Recipes:

Chocolate Coffee

Christmas Coffee

“The powers of a man’s mind are directly proportioned to the quantity of coffee he drinks.”
– James Mackintosh

“A bad cup of coffee is better than no coffee at all.”
– David Lynch