Why It Works
- Homemade chocolate sauce made with real chocolate, butter, and brown sugar adds deep, balanced flavor and a velvety texture you’ll never get from bottled syrup.
- A precise 1/8 teaspoon of peppermint extract brightens the mocha without overpowering it.
At this point in American culture, the day after Halloween might as well be December 25th. By early November, I’m out walking my dog past fully lit Christmas trees, and Starbucks has already rolled out its winter drink lineup. Front and center, as always, is the peppermint mocha—a drink that signals the official start of the winter festive season.
In years past, I’d scoffed at the severely premature cheer. But lately, with the world feeling a little heavier, I get it. Sometimes you need something unabashedly joyful to cut through the gloom, and a mug of warm, chocolate-mint comfort does the job nicely. Let’s not lie to ourselves, though: This isn’t really a coffee drink as much as it is a dessert with a splash of caffeine, and that’s OK. You deserve it.
But if you’re going to do it, do it well. That means skipping the bottled syrup and making your own chocolate sauce instead. In our peppermint mocha recipe, our colleague Tricia Manzanero Stuedeman from our Birmingham, Alabama, test kitchen has developed a foolproof recipe. The chocolate sauce comes together in minutes, but the payoff is a glossy, bittersweet sauce made with real chocolate, butter, and brown sugar that delivers big flavor, not just sweetness. You’ll even have extra for drizzling over ice cream later (consider that a bonus).
Serious Eats / Robby Lozano, Food Stylist: Tricia Manzanero, Prop Stylist: Keoshia McGhee
A little peppermint extract goes a long way in this recipe. Too much, and your mocha suddenly tastes like mouthwash. Through testing, Tricia found the sweet spot to be 1/8 teaspoon divided between two mugs. It’s just enough for a clean, brisk note without bulldozing the rich mocha flavor.
Frothing the milk is key to the full mocha effect. If you have an espresso-grade milk steamer at home, by all means use it here, but a handheld frother is cheap and works surprisingly well in creating that café-style layer of silky foam that turns each sip into something a little luxurious.
Drizzled with more chocolate and dusted with crushed peppermint, this homemade peppermint mocha is less about chasing Starbucks and more about one-upping it. Because if we’re going to drink dessert, it might as well be great.
This recipe was developed by Tricia Manzanero Stuedeman; The headnote was written by Leah Colins.
