You don’t have to wait for the holidays to enjoy your favorite Starbucks holiday drinks. Make them at home! They’re simple and you can make them all year round.
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For some, it’s officially the holidays when Starbucks rolls out their holiday drinks.
Starbucks has a long history of holiday drinks. Did you know the Eggnog Latte was the first holiday drink? It was released in 1986.
Then came the Peppermint Mocha (2002), Pumpkin Spice Latte (2003), Caramel Brulee Latte (2009), Chestnut Praline Latte (2014) and the Toasted White Chocolate Mocha (2017).
I’ll show you how to make a few of these below.
Plus, you may have had a Gingerbread Latte, which was introduced in 2000 and now only available in Canada and select international markets. But not to worry. If you loved the Gingerbread Latte, I included a DIY recipe of that too.
And another bonus, I’ve included a recipe for the latest addition to the holiday drinks, the Irish Cream Cold Brew.
I hope you enjoy making these Starbucks drinks at home. Happy holidays!
DIY Starbucks Holiday Drinks Recipes
1. Peppermint Mocha
Even before the Pumpkin Spice Latte craze, there was the Starbucks Peppermint Mocha.
When the Peppermint Mocha was first released in 2002, it was topped with red sprinkles. Today, you’ll find it topped with dark chocolate curls. We topped our with dark chocolate chips, but if you’d like to pay homage to the original, feel free to use red sprinkles.
See our full Peppermint Mocha recipe here.
2. Toasted White Chocolate Mocha
For a Toasted White Chocolate Mocha, you’ll need espresso, white chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, milk, whipped cream and Christmasy sprinkles. It’s so easy to make the results are so festive and delicious!
To make this toasted taste, I added a little caramel sauce.
See our full Toasted White Chocolate Mocha recipe here.
3. Caramel Brulee Latte
This is one of the seasonal holiday Starbucks drinks that’s especially for the caramel lovers. It’s topped with what Starbucks calls a Caramel Brulee Topping.
As this isn’t sold anywhere online or in stores, I recreated the drink using a caramel cookie called stroopwafels. It gives the latte a delicious crunch.
See our full Caramel Brulee Latte recipe here.
4. Eggnog Latte
It’s the original Starbucks holiday drink! Our eggnog latte is the coffee drink to make on extra special mornings, especially during the holidays.
Starbucks just uses 4 ingredients for this drink, so you can make it in no time.
See our full Eggnog Latte recipe here.
5. Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha
Starbucks lists the ingredients of the Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha in this order: Milk, White Chocolate Mocha Sauce, Brewed Espresso, Peppermint Syrup, Whipped Cream, Vanilla Syrup and Dark Chocolate Curls.
The white chocolate sauce and peppermint syrup are combined with rich espresso and steamed milk. Then topped with sweet whipped cream and dark chocolate curls.
See our full Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha recipe here.
6. Irish Cream Cold Brew
Ever had an Irish Cream Cold Brew at Starbucks? If you haven’t had a chance to try it yet or haven’t even heard of it, you may have missed it because it is a seasonal beverage and a newer one too.
We’ll do something similar in our homemade Irish Cream Cold Brew using cold brew coffee and Irish cream syrup. Then topping it with our own cold foam and a line of cocoa powder right through the middle of the cold foam, just like Starbucks.
See our full Irish Cream Cold Brew recipe here.
7. Gingerbread Latte
For the gingerbread fans and those looking to put a holiday twist to a cup of coffee, this is the gingerbread latte recipe for you.
The gingerbread latte used to be one of the Starbucks holiday drinks in the US. While it isn’t on the menu any longer (for now anyway!), we can make it at home.
See our full Gingerbread Latte recipe here.
How to Make Each Drink into an Iced Drink
Starbucks offers most of these holiday drinks both warm and iced.
If you want to make any of these drinks iced, it’s easy. Just follow these tips:
- Set the coffee aside to cool completely, or else the ice cubes will melt right away when added.
- Use coffee ice cubes. Instead of water, pour coffee into ice cube trays. This way you won’t have diluted coffee.
- I find it easier to mix the syrups or sauces in the coffee first then adding ice. It’s just easier to make sure it mixes evenly.
How to Make Each Drink into a Frappuccino
These holiday beverages can also be turned into homemade frappuccinos. Starbucks offers frappuccino versions these holiday drinks, with the exception of the Irish Cream Cold Brew. But if you really like Irish Cream, you can still attempt to make it into a frappuccino too.
Here are some tips:
- Follow the same recipe as the warm version, but add 1 cup of ice and reduce the amount of milk.
- Set aside the coffee to cool completely before mixing in with the ice.
- This isn’t a mandatory ingredient, but if you want to make your frappuccinos thicker, use xantham gum.
- Use the same toppings as the warm drinks for your frappuccinos.
Starbucks Fall Favorites
Since these fall drinks are available throughout the holiday season as well, I thought I’d add a few here. They’re at Starbucks way earlier, as early as August, but are still seasonal.
So if you’re craving one in the middle of spring, you still make one at home.
Pumpkin Spice Latte
The pumpkin spice latte is a coffee beverage made with pumpkin and a mix of traditional fall spices along with espresso and steamed milk. It is often topped with whipped cream and garnished with more fall spices.
We are going to remake this popular seasonal beverage in a more natural and healthier way. It tastes so good and does not contain any artificial flavors or colors.
See our full Pumpkin Spice Latte recipe here.
Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew
One easy way to upgrade your cold brew coffee this fall is with this Starbucks inspired pumpkin cream cold brew recipe.
The Starbucks pumpkin cream cold brew is a seasonal beverage that appears on the menu at around the same time as the Pumpkin Spice Latte. It is cold brew coffee sweetened with vanilla syrup, topped with a layer of pumpkin flavored cold foam and sprinkled with pumpkin spice.
See our full Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew recipe here.
Salted Caramel Mocha
Starbucks lists the ingredients of the Salted Caramel Mocha as Milk, Mocha Sauce, Brewed Espresso, Toffee Nut Syrup, Whipped Cream, Caramel Sauce and Sea Salt Topping.
They combine mocha sauce and toffee nut syrup with coffee and steamed milk, then top it with whipped cream, a drizzle of caramel sauce and a blend of turbinado sugar and sea salt.
To make it at home, we’ll be using similar ingredients. And if you don’t have some of them at home, I’ve included a few replacements which will work just as well.
See our full Salted Caramel Mocha recipe here.
