Make your own homemade Peppermint Mocha Frappe with this delicious, easy recipe. It will save you money and is a great way to use up that leftover coffee!
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Several weeks ago after enjoying a peppermint mocha frappuccino at Starbucks, I decided it was time to figure out how to make my own at home.
I’m fine with spending the occasional $4 for the pleasure of sipping one of my favorite drinks. But the thing is, I’m not able to get out to coffee shops very often and I loved the idea of being able to enjoy a peppermint mocha frappe any time that I wanted to!
And being able to do that for a mere fraction of what I typically spend at Starbucks, was just added incentive!
So, using my easy Caramel Frappe recipe as a starting point, I got to work.
It was a tough job since I had to drink multiple frappuccinos for taste testing. Yup, totally a hardship. 🙂
How to Make a Peppermint Mocha Frappe
Use coffee ice cubes
I’ve discovered the secret to a really good homemade frappuccino is to brew coffee, freeze it in ice cube trays and then use that instead of regular ice. Using regular ice cubes as most frappe recipes do, results in a rather watered-down beverage.
The coffee ice cubes totally solve that problem and you end up with a delicious full-flavored frozen coffee drink!
Use cocoa powder
Initially, I tried using chocolate syrup to get the chocolate-y flavor I was looking for. But it was just way too sweet and much too mild flavored.
I realized that wasn’t going to cut it, so I grabbed the cocoa powder. I took one sip and immediately knew this was the perfect, rich depth of flavor that I was looking for and it totally hit the spot!
Use peppermint extract
A lot of homemade peppermint mocha frappuccino recipes use peppermint syrup. But I prefer to stick with ingredients that have multiple uses.
And since a lot of bakers, including myself, have peppermint extract in their pantries, I decided to use that.
I was quite happy with the end result and felt satisfied that I had created a Peppermint Mocha Frappuccino that even Starbucks would be proud of! In fact, my husband and I both agreed that this homemade version is actually tastier than Starbucks. And obviously much cheaper too!
But don’t just take our word for it, be the judge and try it for yourself!
Homemade Peppermint Mocha Frappuccino
Peppermint Mocha Frappe
Enjoy the convenience and savings of being able to make your own coffee frappe at home! This Peppermint Mocha is delicious and will hit the spot.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups strong coffee, frozen into ice cubes (see Note below)
- ¾ cup milk
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar or more to taste (see Note below)
- 1 ½ tablespoons cocoa powder
- 5 to 7 drops peppermint extract
- whipped cream and chocolate shavings
Instructions
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Place all ingredients except whipped cream in blender. Blend until ice cubes are crushed.
If you have trouble getting it thoroughly blended, let it sit for a couple of minutes and try again. (I’ve discovered that if you let it set for 15 to 20 minutes before blending it works much better! I just get it ready as soon as I get up in the morning and by the time I get dressed and eat my breakfast, it’s ready to blend!)
-
Top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.
Recipe Notes
* For me, 1 ½ cups of coffee is about 12 ice cubes
* I recently started to use stevia to sweeten this and love that it gives it fewer calories.
UPDATE: I finally got smart and started defrosting the ice cubes in the microwave for about 45 seconds. I do it just long enough that it softens them a bit, but not long enough to melt them and lose the slushiness that they give the frappe. It works like a charm!
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Tammy @ Posh Patterns Blog says
Oh my goodness!! Starbucks Peppermint Mochas are my favorite. 🙂 I will definitely be trying this one!
ThriftyFrugalMom says
Tammy, I hope you love it as much as we do! It’s always fun to be able to make your favorites at home to enjoy any old time you want….and save money in the process!
Rosie says
Sounds delicious! Would this work as a cold drink, made with fresh coffee? It is cold here and while I will save this recipe for summer, I sometimes like to make warm versions of my drinks.
ThriftyFrugalMom says
Rosie, I’m pretty sure it would! In fact, I’m hoping to work on a hot version sometime….it’s in my line-up of blog post ideas. 🙂 The only issue you might have is getting the cocoa powder to blend in well. If you have an electric frother, that would probably help. Enjoy!
Jennifer | The Deliberate Mom says
Ahhhh! Reading this totally made me crave it! LOL
I’m pinning this to my Deliberate DRINKS board.
Thanks for sharing and for linking up to the #SHINEbloghop.
Wishing you a lovely day.
xoxo
ThriftyFrugalMom says
Wish I could make you one to satisfy your cravings, Jennifer! And thank YOU for hosting the link up and for pinning. 🙂
Emily says
The peppermint mocha is my yearly splurge at Starbucks each holiday season! This seems like an easy enough recipe that I could try making it. Thanks for enduring all of the taste testing in order to share this recipe. 😉
ThriftyFrugalMom says
Oh, yeah, make it and have fun splurging any time you want! And all those taste testings were a real hardship. Ah, the things that we bloggers have to do! 🙂
Marissa says
yum! thanks for the recipe:)
ThriftyFrugalMom says
Sure thing, Marissa! Hope you enjoy it. 🙂
Katie | The Surly Housewife says
I love peppermint mochas!! I always get so sad when the seasonal drinks are gone from Starbucks. This is a perfect alternative 🙂
Stopping by from the ShineHop!
ThriftyFrugalMom says
I always hate when my favorite seasonal drinks are gone too! It’s just one of the reasons I love making my own version at home when I can.
Enjoy!
Kayla says
This looks amazing! I especially like the peppermint on the rim 🙂
ThriftyFrugalMom says
Thanks, Kayla! It is actually colored sugar that is peppermint flavored. 🙂 Kind of perfect for this recipe!
AdoringFamily says
This sounds delicious! I too would like to try it hot. I have an immersion blender so hopefully that will burns the cocoa. Thank you for posting 🙂 I’m pinning as well!
ThriftyFrugalMom says
I hope you enjoy it! Yes, I really need to work on the hot version. I tend to be a cold beverage girl, even during the winter months. But I do like hot drinks occasionally too.
Bridget/The Recipe Wench says
Hahaha! Yes, we do make a lot of “sacrifices” when we research and fine-tune recipes. Cocktail recipe research is especially grueling! I’ve pinned this frappe recipe — it sounds perfect. Thanks for sharing at the Inspire Me Mondays Link-Up. Consider me inspired! See you next week!
ThriftyFrugalMom says
Yes, it’s a hard life taste testing and fine-tuning recipes! 🙂 So happy you were inspired and hope you enjoy the peppermint mocha frappe!
Emily says
Peppermint is such a great treat this time of year! I always have leftover coffee that I use in iced coffee for an afternoon pick me up, but this sounds like a great use for the leftovers too.
ThriftyFrugalMom says
I like iced coffee, but for some reason, I like the frappe form even better! But obviously, you could always just add the cocoa and peppermint to your iced coffee too. 😉 I just made my first Peppermint Mocha Frappe of the season and am enjoying as I type. Yum!
Ali says
the very best thing? none of the long list of chemicals that Starbucks uses in all their beverages!
ThriftyFrugalMom says
Yes!! One of the big reasons I love it too. 🙂