Christmas Drinks

Day 23

Christmas Beverages

Today for Blogmas lets talk drinks.  To be more specific let's talk delicious hot drinks because it is getting cold up here!

When considering what drinks to add to this post I said to myself "Now Christine, everyone knows how to crush up a candy cane and put it in hot chocolate"... so needless to say I didn't include that one (just kidding I changed my mind and included a hot chocolate recipe - that does not include a hot chocolate mix).

Confession: I'm not big into the alcohol but if you wanted to make these a little more alcoholic I would suggest some Bailey's or Kaluha.

Confession #2:  I took pictures of each and every single one of these drinks (I really did make them all.. I promise!) but then they pretty well all looked exactly the same.  So enjoy the few pictures I included.

Up first we have one of my absolute favourites to make!
Pumpkin Spice Latte
I LOVE to make this for a few reasons

1) It gets made in my crockpot which means I can turn it on before church, head out to church for a couple of hours and come back to something warm and delicious...  There is just something nice about a warm cup of pumpkin spice latte after coming back from church on a chilly morning.
2) It's pumpkin spice (need I say more)
3) It's pumpkin spice without the price tag of having to go to Starbucks.

Now, I have a REALLY small crockpot so I have to cut this recipe at least in half (when it is just John and I though I'll cut it down to a quarter recipe.

I make my own pumpkin pie spice instead of buying it in the store you can find a recipe for some here.  I've also never purchased allspice before but one can make it using some spices that you likely already have in your cupboard (equal amounts of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg) .

I don't have espresso (I don't even know if you need a fancy special espresso machine to make the stuff) so I just make strong coffee... no one has ever complained.

I've been making this for years and it has never done me wrong.  So you should definitely try it this holiday season and maybe try it with these Pumpkin Cookies



This next recipe will go great with my Chocolate Chip Cookies and Cream Cookies because well..
Cookies and Cream Hot Chocolate

Bonus: This one is seriously easy to make.







I'm a big fan of the coconut frappachino at Starbucks during the summer time.... so I set my sights on a hot beverage that might compare... which I came across one that involved both caramel and coconut I knew it would be good.

Caramel Coconut Hot Chocolate


We don't have those Nestle chocolates where I am (that I'm aware of) so instead of using caramel chocolates (which I guess I probably could have found something more comparable) I just added a bunch of caramel sauce that I would put on ice cream.  It turned out great... I actually like this one just as much as I liked the pumpkin one.  Just watch the coconut that you're toasting (I put mine in the toaster oven)... it seems like it is taking forever and then you go to respond to one text message and BAM it's burnt.

You can enjoy this beverage with my Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Finally, I thought this post needed another coffee option PLUS I was missing out on doing anything with eggnog and that just isn't right.

Eggnog Latte

Much like with the Pumpkin Spice Latte I used strong coffee instead of espresso for this one.  I didn't think I would enjoy this one too much because I know that I don't like the eggnog option at Starbucks with their holiday drinks... well, I much preferred my version of it!

Don't forget to enjoy this with my Eggnog Cookies... the perfect pairing!



Hot Chocolate
Ok, I know I said I wasn't going to but for those of who are too afraid to try something new and exciting John came over a while ago and told me he was looking up where the best hot chocolate was in the city... he had a couple of options but then we decided to make it ourselves.

In case you are only wanting to try a couple of these lovely drinks my favouites are the Pumpkin Spice Latte and Caramel Coconut Hot Chocolate.



Now it's your turn... have you tried any of these?
Considering to try one of these?
Which one sounds the best to you?