The twinkle lights go up, the first Mariah Carey song sneaks onto the radio, and suddenly my kitchen turns into a full-blown holiday coffee lab. Cinnamon everywhere.
These five recipes are the ones that made the cut. They’re cozy and a little indulgent, and every one of them feels like Christmas in a mug.
Grab your favorite mug, and let’s get brewing.
5 Lattes I Make Every December
These Christmas latte recipes are all coffee shop style holiday drinks I make at home. Some need a quick syrup on the stove, some just need a bottle from the store, and one is iced. Each latte below has the full ingredient list, the video to make it from, and a catch I learned making it.
Gingerbread Latte
I put this gingerbread latte first because you make the syrup yourself with fresh ginger. The syrup simmers on the stove about 20 minutes with sliced ginger, sugar, water, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg, and the kitchen smells like Christmas. Then a spoonful goes into a mug with very strong coffee and steamed milk, whipped cream on top. I brewed the coffee strong in a small drip filter. An espresso machine works too. You get one latte, plus extra syrup that keeps about a week in the fridge.
What I learned making this latte: watch the syrup near the end and pull it off the heat while it’s still runny. If you leave it the full 20 minutes, the syrup can turn into a thick sugar paste. Sugar hides the spice, so I use more spice than I think I need, and half the sugar is still sweet enough. If you don’t drink coffee, steep black tea in the syrup instead for a gingerbread tea latte.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup white or brown sugar
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp freshly ground coffee
- 1/4 cup boiling hot water
- 1 cup steamed milk
- whipped cream
- sprinkle of nutmeg
SaveWhite Chocolate Cardamom Mocha
I make the white chocolate cardamom mocha for the smell. A rosemary sprig on top gets lit so it smokes over the cup, and the whole drink smells like a Christmas tree. Under the rosemary it’s a white chocolate mocha with a few drops of cardamom bitters, a strong spiced flavoring. White chocolate sauce and the bitters go in the cup, then a double shot of espresso and steamed milk. You get one 8-ounce mocha in a few minutes.
The catch is the gear. You need an espresso machine and a milk steamer for this mocha. The white chocolate matters a lot, too. Cheap white chocolate with no cocoa butter tastes flat here, so use a good one. White chocolate and cardamom are a nice match, and a little vanilla fits too. The rosemary and cardamom keep the mocha from tasting only sweet.
Ingredients
- 3/4 oz white chocolate sauce
- 2 dashes cardamom bitters
- Double espresso
- 8 oz steamed milk
- Rosemary for garnish and smoking
SaveChestnut Praline Latte
Five ingredients and no espresso machine get you a chestnut praline latte that tastes like the one at Starbucks. Regular brewed coffee, warm milk and chestnut praline syrup get stirred together in a big mug, then frothed milk and a little cinnamon go on top. The recipe makes one large latte in about five minutes.
I make this one when I want a coffee shop latte but don’t want to cook a syrup or pull out a machine. A regular drip pot is enough, since the recipe uses a cup and a half of brewed coffee. Brew it strong, or the syrup is all you taste.
The syrup is the hard part. A bottle of chestnut praline syrup can be hard to find, so I buy one before the morning I want the latte. Once you have it, the drink itself is simple. If you like it less sweet, start with less syrup and add more to taste.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup of warm milk
- 1/4 cup of chestnut praline syrup
- 1 1/2 cup of brewed coffee
- 1/4 cup of warm frothed milk
- Cinnamon
SaveIced Gingerbread Latte
When I want something cold, I make this iced gingerbread latte: cold brew, milk and a homemade gingerbread syrup poured over ice. The drink is a homemade copy of the Dunkin’ gingerbread latte. The syrup is sugar, water, fresh ginger strips, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg brought to a boil, then left a few days so it gets stronger. One batch covers a lot of glasses. Cold brew is coffee steeped in cold water. Cold brew tastes smoothest over ice, but any brewed coffee works.
This iced latte was really good the first time I made it, and the syrup tastes close to the one in the Starbucks gingerbread latte. Cold coffee can cover the ginger, so taste the drink and add more syrup if the ginger gets lost. Stir the syrup into the coffee before the coffee goes over the ice, so the syrup mixes in.
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar (white or brown)
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 segment of fresh ginger, cut into thin strips
- ice
- cold brew coffee
- gingerbread syrup
- fresh milk
- whipped cream topping (optional)
SaveCaramel Brulee Latte
My caramel brulee latte copies the Starbucks holiday drink with four things from the store shelf. Caramel syrup goes into espresso or strong coffee with a cup of hot milk and whipped cream on top. There’s no cooking, so this is the latte I make on rushed mornings when there’s no time to cook a syrup. One mug takes a few minutes.
Don’t use a full cup of espresso. That is far too strong. A shot or two, or strong brewed coffee, is right. A few cooks who made it call caramel brulee their favorite Starbucks holiday drink. Someone asked about swapping hot cocoa for the coffee so kids can have one. I haven’t tried that, so take it as an idea.
Ingredients
- Caramel syrup
- Espresso or coffee
- 1 cup of milk
- Whipped cream
SaveChristmas Latte FAQ
I get the same few questions about Christmas latte recipes every year, so here are the quick answers.
Do I Need an Espresso Machine for Christmas Lattes?
Most of these lattes don’t need an espresso machine. Strong brewed coffee, a moka pot, or coffee through a small drip filter works for the gingerbread, chestnut praline and caramel brulee lattes. Only the white chocolate cardamom mocha needs the machine and a milk steamer. Whatever you use, make it strong. Weak coffee makes any of them taste mostly sweet.
How Long Does Homemade Gingerbread Syrup Keep?
The stovetop gingerbread syrup with fresh ginger keeps about a week in a jar in the fridge. The spice sinks to the bottom as the syrup sits, so I shake or stir the jar before each use. Cold syrup is slow to mix into coffee, so I warm a spoonful for a few seconds first and it mixes in better.
Can I Make These Dairy Free or Less Sweet?
To skip dairy, use oat, almond or soy milk in the syrup lattes. They work fine and add a little flavor of their own. For a less sweet latte, start with less syrup than you think you need, taste, then add more. Less sugar lets the ginger and spice come through.
Can I Make Them Ahead?
You can make the syrups ahead and keep them in the fridge, so a latte takes minutes on a weekday morning. The syrup for the iced gingerbread latte is meant to sit a few days anyway, so that’s the syrup to make first. The lattes themselves don’t keep. I brew the coffee and warm or steam the milk right before I drink one.
Keep a bottle of caramel syrup around for the rushed mornings, and buy the chestnut praline syrup before you need it. Save the stovetop gingerbread syrup for a slow weekend, when the time at the stove and a kitchen that smells like Christmas are the whole point.
