'Tis The Season To Make Easy Peppermint Milk

Pumpkin spice season may be winding down by the time the leaves start turning brown, but we're not shedding any tears into our lattes, since up on deck is another seasonal favorite: peppermint! While peppermint doesn't seem to be quite as versatile a flavor as pumpkin — among the more peculiar pumpkin spice products we've seen are spiced Spam and Nissin cup noodles — but when it comes to making flavored milk, we'd say it wins hands-down. Peppermint milk is also super-easy to make, and it really is the kind of project that's safe for any kids who are old enough to have grasped the concept of "Don't eat all the candies now or there won't be any left to flavor the milk."

Yes, candies, either starlight mints or broken-up candy canes, are all you need to make peppermint milk — well, that and milk, of course. Take about 5 candies (or inch-long candy cane chunks) per cup of milk, and simply let them steep for about an hour or so in the refrigerator. Strain the candies out of the now peppermint-infused milk, and it's mission accomplished.  If the milk isn't pink enough for your liking, you can always add a drop or two of red food coloring.

Peppermint is plenty tasty all on its own, but for a fun, festive, and zero-waste presentation, let the milk-soaked candies dry out, then crush them to a powder and use them to rim a serving glass. If you really want to go all-out, you can even serve the drink with a chocolate straw to give it some peppermint mocha pizzazz. You can also steam the peppermint milk and top it with whipped cream followed by either a drizzle of chocolate syrup or a sprinkling of crushed peppermint candies (or both).

Peppermint milk can also be used as a base for other seasonal beverages. It would be delightful in homemade hot chocolate or could be used in place of flavored creamer in your coffee. If you combine it with coffee, chocolate syrup, and ice cubes, you can make a DIY peppermint mocha Frappuccino, or you could add a scoop of chocolate ice cream and blend it for a peppermint mocha milkshake. You might even want to experiment with using it in homemade eggnog, but in this case, maybe leave out the nutmeg and cinnamon since these warm spices might clash with the cool mint.