Santa's White Christmas

Many of you know that I am a complete snob when it comes to coffee. In my opinion, there are few things better than a good cup of coffee and few things worse than a bad cup of coffee. A couple years ago, I discovered Barnie's Santa's White Christmas ground coffee and then in subsequent years I had a hard time finding it here locally. So I decided to come up with a similar recipe using other ingredients. The following is what I came up with. While it's not exactly the same, it's a pretty darn good treat on a chilly December day. Enjoy!

Santa's White Christmas

¼ c French Vanilla Cappuccino mix (see notes)
¾ to 1 cup of milk (judge based on the size of your mug)
½ oz (1 T) Hazelnut flavored syrup (see notes)
½ oz (1 T) caramel ice cream topping + some for drizzling
whipped cream
1 t. toasted coconut (see notes)

Put French Vanilla Cappuccino mix into a large/oversized mug. Heat milk until hot but not boiling. (I use the milk steamer wand on my espresso machine for this part, but you can also use the microwave) Pour milk over Cappuccino mix and stir. Add hazelnut and caramel; stir well. Put a generous amount of whipped cream, drizzle additional caramel, and then sprinkle toasted coconut on top. Enjoy!

Notes-
I use Folger’s French Vanilla Cappuccino mix, available in the aisle where coffee is sold in most grocery stores
I use Torani (or the store brand) Hazelnut syrup, also available in the aisle where coffee is sold in most grocery stores
Toasting the coconut adds a special taste that you can’t duplicate unless the coconut is toasted

To toast coconut-
I make it in my toaster oven. I spray the pan with cooking spray and then sprinkle one teaspoon of coconut onto the pan. Then I spray it with more cooking spray and put it into the toaster oven on the lightest setting. You may need to hit the button twice to achieve a light golden brown. Be sure to watch it carefully as the coconut will burn very easily.

Naughty or Nice Hot Cocoa

I've been making this hot cocoa since the boys were babies. They started calling it "special" because I added red or green sprinkles on top of the whipped cream. One year, I added Buttershots to mine. Christopher swiped the mug from me and polished it off before I could stop him. He declared mine was better than his, so I had to come up with a non-alcoholic recipe for him... and the rest is history.
I usually make the "naughty" version, which includes Buttershots, whole milk, and all the sprinklings, trimmings, and whipped cream. But if you're trying to be "nice", you can make it with skim milk and follow the non-alcoholic version listed in the notes. Either way, it's YUMMY!

Naughty or Nice Hot Cocoa

1 envelope of your favorite cocoa mix
¾ c to 1 cup milk (judge based on the size of your mug)
½ oz. (1 T) Buttershots (see non-alcoholic version in notes)
½ oz. (1 T) chocolate syrup
nutmeg
whipped cream
colored sugar sprinkles, chocolate shavings, mini chocolate chips, or whatever other topping you might desire

Put the cocoa mix and a light shake of nutmeg into a large/oversized mug. Heat milk until hot but not boiling. (I use the milk steamer wand on my espresso machine for this part, but you can also use the microwave.) Pour milk over cocoa mix and stir. Add Buttershots and chocolate syrup; stir. Put a generous amount of whipped cream on top and add sprinkles of toppings. Enjoy!

Notes-
*Buttershots is a brand name for butterscotch schnapps
To make an equally good, non-alcoholic variation of this recipe, use a tablespoon of butterscotch ice cream topping instead of Buttershots. (That’s how I make it for my kids.)
You can use half & half instead of milk, if you’re feeling naughty
I use Swiss Miss or Carnation milk chocolate cocoa mix, but you can use whatever is your favorite

Variations-
Mocha Cocoa: Add one tablespoon of your favorite flavored instant coffee mix to the original recipe. I like to use Café Vienna by GFIC, available on the aisle where coffee is sold in most grocery stores.
Peppermint Cocoa: Omit Buttershots and nutmeg. Instead, use ¼ t. peppermint extract and put crushed peppermint on top.
Cinnamon Cocoa: Omit Buttershots and nutmeg. Instead, use ½ oz. Goldschlager and a shake of cinnamon.
*Goldschlager is a brand name for cinnamon schnapps