Copycat - Skinniest At Home Peppermint Mocha

It's the end of November and time to bid a "grande" hello to the holiday season. As a peppermint fanatic, to me one of the season's best flavors is Starbucks Peppermint Mocha housed in that ever famous and now even more controversial red cup. Carrying that red cup around screams Christmas to me. But what's even more awesome is what's inside - a skinny peppermint mocha. There's a catch to those lovely coffee mixed drinks though. They can turn a skinny girl into a not-so-skinny one lickity split. Did I mention the lines during the holiday season? Hate lines. This year I resolved to further slim down my holiday favorite. Starbucks' 16 ounce Skinny Peppermint Mocha packs 160 calories. My version is 34 calories for 8 ounces. If you double the recipe to equal Starbucks' tall, mine clocks in at 68 calories. Not that I'm competing or anything.  So, mirror, mirror on the wall, who has the skinniest peppermint mocha of them all?

TIPS:

• I get that the real deal contains frothed milk but to make this more accessible, I made this guy with fat free half and half. If you have a frother, feel free to add some milk to the body of the drink and top the drink with a little dollop of frothed milk like I did in the pictures. This will change the calorie count though.
• Want to make frothed milk but don't have a milk frother? See here on how to make frothed milk in a mason jar.
• Don't feel like making frothed milk? Top with whipped cream or sip sans topping. The taste is the same.
• I use Torani brand syrups. Can't find them in stores? Try Amazon, Bed Bath & Beyond or World Market. 
• I use an Aeropress to brew my coffee, which makes a naturally strong cup. Don't have one? No biggie. To brew extra strong coffee, use the same amount of water for 1 serving but double the coffee amount when brewing. Coffee strength is a matter of taste so use a brew strength you like. 
• Recipe can be easily doubled.

RECIPE:
Serving size: 1 (Approximately 8 ounce cup)
34 calories / .6g fat / 5.4g carb/ .9g protein / 2.8g sugar

Calories were calculated without using frothed milk. 

6 ounces of strong to extra strong coffee (see 5th bullet above)

2 -3 teaspoons Torani sugar free peppermint syrup (use more or less depending on the mint strength you like)

2 1/2 teaspoons milk chocolate instant hot cocoa mix (full fat only - I used Nestle 90 calorie kind)

1/4 teaspoon sugar free sweetener of choice (or a couple drops liquid stevia) (I used swerve)

2 teaspoons fat free half and half

2 tablespoons frothed milk using 1% (completely optional)

After your strong coffee is brewed, stir all ingredients, top with some frothed milk or whipped cream and enjoy (frothed milk or whipped cream isn't included in calorie count.