This Peppermint Mocha is quick and simple to make at home. You don’t need espresso, store-bought syrups or peppermint extract, just coffee, milk, sugar, cocoa powder, and a candy cane.
The holidays are finally here, and that means it’s time to make some festive coffee drinks.
My go-to holiday treat-yourself coffee is always a peppermint white chocolate mocha or regular peppermint mocha. Two years ago I posted the recipe for the homemade white chocolate version, so this year you’re getting a classic peppermint mocha.
Like my regular homemade mocha , this is a really quick, simple, and easy recipe to make at home. You don’t need espresso, store-bought syrups or peppermint extract.
It’s made with strongly brewed coffee (or whatever coffee you have in your pot right now), a quick chocolate syrup of cocoa powder, sugar, and water, and the peppermint flavor comes from a crushed up candy cane.
Ingredient Notes
- Milk: Use any milk you like here (plant-based works just fine). The higher fat the milk, the richer your peppermint mocha will be. For an extra rich and creamy drink, try substituting half and half or heavy cream for some of the milk.
- Cocoa powder: Both natural and Dutch-process cocoa powder will work for this recipe.
- Candy cane: This recipe calls for one large candy cane, but if you only have small ones, one large candy cane is equal to about 3 or 4 minis.
How to Make a Peppermint Mocha at Home
- Using a zip-top bag and a rolling pin or meat mallet, crush a candy cane into fine crumbs.
- On the stove, heat cocoa powder, sugar, and a little water together to make a chocolate syrup.
- Add milk and candy cane pieces and heat until milk is steaming and candy cane dissolved.
- Pour over hot coffee and stir.
- And that’s it. Taste and add a little more sugar if you’d like it sweeter, and add a little heavy cream if you want it richer. Then just top it with some whipped cream and enjoy your peppermint mocha in your pajamas on a chilly morning.
Can I make this a peppermint mocha frappuccino?
Yes. If you’re one of those people who still prefer their coffee iced in the winter, you can serve this over ice or blended into a frappe.
- Chill your coffee. Make the recipe as written BUT when you add the milk, add only 2 tablespoons, and heat over medium-low heat. You want to dissolve the candy cane pieces without scalding the milk.
- Then combine this mixture with the remaining 2 tablespoons of cold milk and the cold coffee.
- Serve over ice or blend with 1 1/2 cup of ice for a frappe.
*If making a peppermint mocha frappuccino and you like a pretty sweet drink, use a heaping tablespoon of sugar or double the sugar because blending in ice will cut the sweetness.
Can I make this with peppermint extract instead of a candy cane?
You can. Skip the candy cane and make the recipe as written. After adding the sugar, add peppermint extract to taste—peppermint extract is very strong, so you won’t need more than a couple of drops.
Can I make a peppermint mocha in the microwave?
Absolutely. To make your mocha in the microwave, combine cocoa powder, sugar, finely crushed candy cane and water in a mug. Stir until well-mixed and microwave for 15 seconds. Stir until candy cane pieces are mostly dissolved before adding the milk. Microwave 30 seconds to 1 minute, until steaming. Stir in hot coffee, and enjoy!
More Starbucks Copycat Recipes
- White Chocolate Mocha
- Caramel Macchiato
- Salted Caramel Mocha
- Chai Tea Latte
More Christmas Drinks
- Eggnog Latte
- Hot Chocolate
- Rich and Thick Hot Chocolate
- Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate
- The BEST Crockpot Hot Chocolate
A Note on Serving Size
This recipe makes about 1 cup of coffee, enough to fill an 8-ounce mug. If you’d like to fill an oversized mug, 1 1/2 or double the recipe.
Ingredients
- ▢ 1 full-size candy cane *
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ( 5g ) unsweetened cocoa powder
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ( 12g ) granulated sugar plus more to taste
- ▢ 1 tablespoon water
- ▢ ¼ cup milk any percentage
- ▢ ¾ cup hot strongly brewed coffee
- ▢ 1 tablespoon heavy cream optional
- ▢ Whipped cream optional
Instructions
- Place candy can in zip top bag and use a meat mallet or rolling pin to crush the candy and into small crumbs.
- In a small pot, combine cocoa powder, sugar, and water. Heat over medium heat, whisking until a smooth chocolate syrup forms. Whisk in milk and add candy cane pieces. Heat, stirring often until milk is steaming and candy cane pieces have dissolved. Turn heat down if milk starts to simmer before candy is dissolved. Whisk vigorously to foam the milk slightly.
- Pour coffee into an 8-ounce mug. Add milk mixture and heavy cream if desired. Taste and add more sugar if not sweet enough. Top with optional whipped cream, serve and enjoy!
Notes
These Baked BBQ Chicken Thighs are an incredibly easy chicken dinner that you can throw together with three ingredients in about 35 minutes.
Hey, friend. If you’re craving some barbecue but don’t want to go outside and man a grill, this is the recipe for you.
This is a super simple chicken recipe that comes together fast and easy. The thighs are started on the stove so you get extra crispy skin and then finished in the oven where the BBQ sauce caramelizes and gets sticky and beautiful.
Ingredients
- Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs: Thigh size varies wildly so plan on serving 2 small thighs or 1 very large thigh per person. If making for guests or big eaters, just automatically plan on 2 thighs per person.
- Barbecue sauce: Use a thick-style BBQ sauce as thinner sauces won’t be able to form a nice caramelized layer over the chicken. This is my go-to BBQ sauce for this recipe.
- Seasoning salt: I like to use seasoning salt here, but if you don’t have any, not a problem. You can mix up your own, or just substitute salt and pepper and a little sprinkle of garlic powder. Your chicken is still going to be delicious.
The Best Cut of Meat for Oven BBQ Chicken
Bone-in, skin-on thighs are my prefered cut of meat for oven-barbecued chicken because the skin bakes up crispy and beautiful and they always come out moist and juicy and perfect. However, if you’d like to use bone-in skin-on chicken breasts or drumsticks, you absolutely can.
Brown and bake them according to the recipe instructions but the chicken breasts will need a longer cooking time and the drumsticks a slightly shorter one.
How to Bake BBQ Chicken Thighs
- Pat chicken thighs dry (this allows the skin to become its crispiest self), sprinkle with seasoning salt, and sear them on the stove until the skin is beautiful, golden, and crispy.
A Note on Grease: Heads up if you’ve never cooked chicken thighs on the stove before. They will sizzle and pop while they cook. You can turn down the heat a little if it’s really stressing you out or use a splatter screen (I love these things) to contain any splatters.
- Then transfer thighs to a baking sheet and use a basting brush (I like the silicone ones that can go through the dishwasher) to add a very generous coating of your favorite BBQ sauce. You want a nice thick layer so you get a really good coat once it caramelizes.
- Finally, bake the thighs until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads 165°F. And that’s it. Time to serve.
What to serve with BBQ chicken thighs?
My favorite things to serve this chicken with are:
- Steamed Green Beans or Butter and Garlic Green Beans
- Microwave Corn on the Cob
- Mashed Potatoes
- Macaroni Salad
- Microwave Baked Potato
At what temperature is chicken done in an oven?
Chicken is fully cooked when it reaches 165°F. Use an instant-read thermometer and check the temperature in the thickest part of the meat, making sure that the thermometer is not touching bone as you take the reading.
Can I use boneless skinless chicken breasts/chicken thighs in this recipe?
You can. I don’t love using boneless skinless chicken for oven BBQ because you don’t get that nice crispy skin, but it’s great if you want to make chicken for BBQ salads or BBQ Chicken Pizza .
Simply follow the recipe as written but brown both sides of the meat on the stove before baking. Boneless thighs will have a significantly shorter baking time, so start checking on them after 6 to 8 minutes. Depending on their size, boneless chicken breasts should take about the same amount of time as bone-in thighs, but keep an eye on them and start checking the temperature of the meat fairly early.
You Might Also Enjoy
- Slow Cooker Tri-tip Sandwiches
- Slow Cooker Beef Ribs
- Country-style Pork Ribs
- Carne Asada
- Crispy Lemon Chicken Thighs
- Chicken Shawarma
Ingredients
Special Equipment
- ▢ Foil optional but nice to have*
- ▢ Splatter screen optional but nice to have
- ▢ Silicone basting brush optional but nice to have
- ▢ Instant-read thermometer
BBQ Chicken
- ▢ 4 to 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs *
- ▢ Seasoning salt or salt and pepper
- ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ▢ 1/2 cup BBQ sauce plus more as needed*
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with foil.*
- Pat thighs dry and examine the underside for any cartilage or bone fragments. Sprinkle both sides with seasoning salt.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, swirl it around the pan so the entire surface is covered. Place chicken thighs in the pan, skin-side down. If chicken is sizzling and popping to aggressively, turn heat down slightly or cover with a splatter screen.
- Cook thighs until skin is deeply golden, and skin has released from the pan, 4 to 6 minutes. Remove pan from heat.
- Transfer thighs, skin-side up, to a baking sheet and brush each thigh very generously with 1 to 2 tablespoons of BBQ sauce so there is a thick coating over all parts of the thigh showing.
- Bake for 15 to 22 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the thigh reads 165°F
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
This pork stroganoff is tender slices of pork tenderloin simmered with mushrooms, onions, and garlic in a creamy and tangy sour cream sauce.
We’re deep into comfort food season at this point, and today I have a new version of one of my absolute favorite comfort foods for you, stroganoff!
Growing up, we always made stroganoff with beef top sirloin, but in college, I learned that you can make an absolutely killer pork stroganoff with the WAY cheaper and very tender pork tenderloin. Best of all, the pork version is just as easy to make and satisfying as the beef version.
Ingredient Notes
- Button or white mushrooms: I prefer to use button/white mushrooms in stroganoff, but use whatever mushrooms you prefer.
- Pork tenderloin: If you don’t usually cook with pork tenderloin, it’s a thin, cylindrical cut of meat that comes from the loin of the pig. It cooks up quick and tender and is typically extremely reasonably priced. Don’t try and substitute pork loin chops here. They are not interchangeable.
- Tomato paste: A little tomato paste adds flavor to the sauce. This recipe won’t use a full can so check out my post What to Do With Leftover Tomato Paste for storage tips and recipe ideas for the leftovers.
- Dry sherry: I love using sherry in stroganoff, but any dry white wine can be substituted.
- Egg noodles: Egg noodles are the classic stroganoff pairing, but you can also serve it over mashed potatoes or rice.
Trimming Pork Tenderloin
Pork tenderloin will typically come with a small amount of fat and silver skin (the thin silvery-blue membrane that sticks tightly to the meat) attached.
You’ll want to trim these away as silver skin won’t cook down in the sauce and has a chewy and unpleasant texture. If you’ve never removed silver skin, it’s very simple. Just slide a sharp knife between the silver skin and the meat and cut it away in strips. Go watch this video for a good tutorial on removing the skin.
How to Make Pork Stroganoff
- Cook mushrooms, onions, and garlic in butter until tender.
- Add pork and cook until just browned before adding tomato paste and flour.
- Stir in sherry, beef broth, and lemon juice and simmer for 15 minutes, until pork is cooked through.
- Temper sour cream, stir it into the sauce, and serve over egg noodles.
- Enjoy!
Tempering Sour Cream
This step is optional but creates a smoother, more luxurious looking sauce and only takes an extra minute or two to do. To temper sour cream, you stir spoonfuls of hot cooking liquid into cold sour cream to slowly raise its temperature. This allows you to add the sour cream to the simmering sauce without it breaking.
What to serve with pork stroganoff?
Pork stroganoff is a pretty rich dish, so stick with light and simple veggies like roasted broccoli , butter and garlic green beans , or roasted zucchini .
Can I freeze stroganoff?
Yes! As long and you just freeze the sauce and not the pasta, stroganoff freezes extremely well. Transfer the stroganoff to a freezer bag or airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Defrost overnight in the fridge or submerge the bag of sauce in warm water, changing the water as necessary, and it should defrost in about 15 minutes. Reheat in the microwave or gently on the stovetop. Make a fresh batch of noodles (2-3 ounces per serving) and enjoy!
More Comfort Food Favorites
- Ham and Potato Soup
- Easy Carnitas
- Country-style Pork Ribs
- Pork Ragu
- Cheesy Sausage Potato Soup
- American Goulash
Ingredients
- ▢ 2 tablespoons ( 28g ) butter
- ▢ 8 ounces button mushrooms sliced
- ▢ ½ medium white or yellow onion diced
- ▢ 2 cloves garlic crushed or minced
- ▢ 1 pork tenderloin trimmed of silverskin, sliced in half lengthwise and sliced across into ¼-inch strips
- ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt plus more as needed
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ( 16g ) tomato paste
- ▢ 2 tablespoons ( 15g ) all-purpose flour
- ▢ 2 cups beef broth
- ▢ ¼ cup dry sherry
- ▢ 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ▢ ¼ teaspoon pepper plus more as needed
- ▢ 8 ounces ( about 4 cups ) egg noodles
- ▢ 1 cup ( 240g ) sour cream
Instructions
Start Stroganoff
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Melt butter and add mushrooms, onions, and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until mushrooms are tender, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add pork tenderloin to the pan. Sprinkle with salt and cook until lightly browned.
- Stir in tomato paste until well mixed. Stir in flour.
- Add beef broth, sherry, lemon juice, and pepper and bring to a simmer. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes.
Start Pasta
- While your sauce simmers, bring a lightly salted pot of water to a boil and cook egg noodles according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
Finish Stroganoff
- Once stroganoff has simmered for 15 minutes, remove it from heat. Measure sour cream out into a medium bowl and add a ladle full of the hot cooking liquid (about 1/4 cup) to the sour cream. Stir until well combined. Repeat until the sour cream is very warm to the touch. Stir the sour cream mixture into the stroganoff.
- Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary. Serve the stroganoff over egg noodles and enjoy!
Easy Peppermint Mocha
Ingredients
- 1 full-size candy cane *
- 1 tablespoon ( 5g ) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon ( 12g ) granulated sugar plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon water
- ¼ cup milk any percentage
- ¾ cup hot strongly brewed coffee
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream optional
- Whipped cream optional
Instructions
- Place candy can in zip top bag and use a meat mallet or rolling pin to crush the candy and into small crumbs.
- In a small pot, combine cocoa powder, sugar, and water. Heat over medium heat, whisking until a smooth chocolate syrup forms. Whisk in milk and add candy cane pieces. Heat, stirring often until milk is steaming and candy cane pieces have dissolved. Turn heat down if milk starts to simmer before candy is dissolved. Whisk vigorously to foam the milk slightly.
- Pour coffee into an 8-ounce mug. Add milk mixture and heavy cream if desired. Taste and add more sugar if not sweet enough. Top with optional whipped cream, serve and enjoy!
