Description
A peppermint mocha espresso martini is an easy (yet fancy!) make at home cocktail that’s just perfect for the holiday season. Made with pantry staples that you likely already have on hand (no need to run to the store for any special ingredients), and simple enough that it can be whipped up in just a few minutes. Delightfully creamy, and laced with notes of chocolate and peppermint. A real treat of a drink to cozy up with throughout the winter season!
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 ounce vodka
- 1 1/2 ounce Kahlua or another coffee liqueur
- 1 1/2 ounces hot espresso, strong coffee, or prepared instant coffee
- 1 1/2 ounces creamer of choice, dairy free or regular both work well
- 1/2 teaspoon cocoa or cacao powder
- 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Optional ingredients: Melted chocolate and crushed candy canes to rim your glass
- Garnish: Cacao powder or chopped chocolate and coffee beans
Instructions
- Gather your ingredients. Prepare your espresso or coffee, measure out the vodka, kahlua, cocoa powder, and flavor extracts. Rim martini glasses with crushed peppermint candy if desired (see instructions in notes below).
- Add ingredients to cocktail shaker. Fill shaker with plenty of ice. Add all ingredients, making sure to add the hot espresso last so the ice doesn’t immediately melt.
- Shake it up! Seal the cocktail shaker and shake vigorously for 15-30 seconds. Properly aerating the cocktail is what helps build the foam on your finished drink so don’t be afraid to use some muscle power and shake for longer than you think you should.
- Strain into a glass. Strain into a glass (chilled if you like), garnish, and enjoy!
Notes
To rim your glass with chocolate and crushed peppermint candy:
- Melt a small amount of chocolate in a flat, shallow bowl (big enough to fit the rim of your glass). Crush some candy canes and transfer to a small plate.
- Dip the martini glass into the chocolate just enough to coat about an 1/8 of an inch of the rim. Allow the excess chocolate to drip off into the bowl.
- Before the chocolate dries roll the edge in the crushed candy canes. You can also pick up candy cane pieces with your fingers and sprinkle them onto the wet chocolate.
- Move the garnished martini glass to the refrigerator to set the chocolate quickly so it’s ready to use!
This recipe is for one cocktail, but some shakers will be able to fit a double batch and make cocktails for two!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Cocktail
- Method: Shaken
- Cuisine: American