Homemade Peppermint Mocha Syrup
A thick, dark chocolate-peppermint coffee syrup made with Dutch-process cocoa, sugar, and pure peppermint extract. One pot, 15 minutes, and it does the job of both the mocha sauce and the peppermint syrup in a coffee-shop peppermint mocha.
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder sifted if clumpy
- ⅛ tsp fine salt
- 1 cup water
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼–½ tsp pure peppermint extract start with ¼, add to taste
Instructions
- Whisk the sugar, cocoa powder, and salt together in a small saucepan with the heat off until the cocoa is evenly distributed and there are no dark clumps, about 20 seconds.
- Pour in the water and set the pan over medium heat. Whisk steadily as it warms until the sugar dissolves and the syrup reaches a gentle simmer — glossy and dark, not a rolling boil.
- Once simmering, cook 5 minutes, stirring every minute or so, until the syrup coats the back of a spoon in a translucent brown film. It will still look thin hot; it thickens as it cools.
- Remove from the heat and wait 30 seconds. Stir in the vanilla and ¼ teaspoon of peppermint extract. Taste a teaspoon in a splash of milk, then add up to another ¼ teaspoon if you want it mintier.
- Cool in the pan about 20 minutes, then pour into a clean glass jar or bottle. Refrigerate up to 2–3 weeks. Shake before using; use 2 tablespoons per 12-oz drink.
Notes
Start with ¼ tsp peppermint and add off the heat only — extract added to a boiling pot cooks off.
Dutch-process cocoa gives a darker, smoother syrup; natural cocoa works but tastes sharper (add a pinch more salt).
Thicker syrup: simmer 3–4 minutes longer, or stir 1 oz chopped dark chocolate in at the end of step 3.
Candy cane version: cut the sugar to ¾ cup and dissolve 2 crushed candy canes into the pot in step 2.
Freeze it: ice cube trays, about 2 tbsp per cube, up to 3 months.
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