Gingerbread Latte

My favorite Starbucks drink ever is their gingerbead latte. I lovelove drinking them out of their red cups during the month of December!! But we do not have a Starbucks in our city. I actually don't really miss it because the coffee here is amazing and there are cozy cafe's on practically every corner. But last December I wondered if I could possibly make my own gingerbread latte. After some research I came across the below recipe for the syrup, as well as the right proportions for a grande latte. With some trepidation that anything could possibly live up to my favorite drink, I made the syrup and followed the directions. And, wow, let me tell you...it is better! As you will see below, the syrup is super easy to make with ingredients that are not difficult to find. And amazingly enough, the results are so tasty and yummy! I hope you will enjoy this recipe, even if you live in the US and can go to your local Starbucks-try it!!

Gingerbread Syrup

2 cups Water

1 ½ cups Granulated Sugar

2 tsp Ground Ginger

½ tsp Ground Cinnamon

½ tsp Vanilla Extract

½ cup Fresh Espresso

8 ounces Milk, steamed (with a little foam)

Garnish

Whipped Cream

Ground Nutmeg

Directions: 

1. Make the gingerbread syrup by combining the water, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, and vanilla in a medium saucepan. Be sure the pan is not too small or the mixture could easily bubble over.

2. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer the syrup uncovered for 15 minutes. Remove the syrup from the heat when it's done and slap a lid on it.

3. Make a double shot of espresso (½ cup) using an espresso machine. Use the machine to steam 8 ounces of milk, or heat up the milk in the microwave if your machine does not foam and steam milk. 

4. Make your latte by first adding ½ cup espresso to a 16-ounce cup. Add ¼ cup gingerbread syrup, followed by the steamed milk. Stir.

5. Top off the drink with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkle of nutmeg.

I am grateful for this experience of living abroad and how it has forced me to break out of my comfort zone and make things from scratch that I would never have made, like gingerbread latte syrup, pancakes, BBQ sauce, cream of mushroom soup, corn syrup, and all sorts of other items. And every single time I've actually preferred the home made item over the store bought one. That's something I'm learning to expect and be thankful for!