Peppermint Vanilla Ice Blended Drink

My favorite coffee shop is The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.

Love them!

I'm not a coffee drinker, you see.  What is a girl to do in this age of coffee drinking, coffee shop going people?  MGG is a coffee-aholic...so we visit Starbuks often.  Not my 1st choice mind you, since they don't have many drinks that are not coffee flavored.  But Coffee Bean....ahhh!  teas and blended drinks galore! I'm in heaven.

We actually have a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (CB for short!) on the business campus where I work.  How convenient!  So we take a little break and walk over to CB for something wonderful.  One of the best drinks there are their Ice Blended drinks.  They have a variety of flavors such as chocolate, mocha, vanilla, etc...that are flavored powders blended with milk or soy and ice.  Like a milkshake really.  So cool and delishhhh!  You would think they are sinful. 

Even though it is winter time I still love my ice blended drinks.  So today I decided to create one at home using one of my favorite flavors this time of year.  Peppermint.  Love, love peppermint.  One of the great joys of the holiday season, and now captured in a frosty, thick drink!

So to make this winter drink at home you will need some vanilla powder.  I purchased Coffee Bean's French Vanilla No Sugar Added Powder, but you could use your own favorite vanilla powder for drinks.  Here's another good one to try.  The peppermint flavor comes from Torani's flavored syrups.  I picked mine up at my local Cost Plus World Market.

These are easy to whip up, just like making a smoothie in your blender.  You will love the crisp flavor of this drink. 

Enjoy!

Peppermint Vanilla Ice Blended Drink

serves 1

1/2 c low fat milk
1 T heaping, vanilla powder
1 T Peppermint sugar free syrup
1 c ice cubes

Place all ingredients in the blender, liquid first.  Blend on high speed until ice is crushed and ingredients are all mixed together.  Serve immediately.

Peppermint Popcorn Snowflakes

Here's the last of the Holiday snacks I made this year.  I took these to work last week and they were all gone before I turned around!

These are super easy to make and something everyone will enjoy!  They make a wonderful hostess gift all wrapped up in a cellophane bag with a pretty ribbon, or as great party snack.

Let's get to it.

You need about 6 cups of popcorn.  You can use homemade popcorn, microwaved popcorn, or store bought....kettle corn work really well too!

Take a 9-10 oz bag of white chocolate baking chips and melt them until they are smooth and shiny.  You can do this on the stove or in the microwave, stirring every 30 sec for about 1 - 1 1/2 mins.  Put the melted chocolate in a large bowl.

Then, go ahead and get out your Holiday aggressions by smashing up some peppermint candies.  I won't tell any one!  (Make sure to smash them really fine.)

Then all you do is dump the popcorn in to the bowl of white chocolate and toss really well to coat all the popcorn.  Then sprinkle the peppermint crumbles all over the popcorn, try to distribute evenly.

Dump the coated popcorn out on to a piece of wax paper to dry.  Let sit for about 30 min.

Once dry you can place in a pretty serving bowl, wrap it up for a gift, or just eat right there!  You deserve it!
Enjoy!

See the little peppermint on the popcorn?  Maybe not...trust me it's there and it's Heaven!!!

Peppermint Popcorn Snowflakes

6 Cups popped popcorn or kettle corn
1 9 - 10 oz bag of white chocolate chips, melted
6 - 7 peppermint candies, crushed

Instructions:

Melt the bag of white chocolate chips and place in a large bowl for mixing.  You can do this on the stove or microwave.  If using microwave stir every 30 seconds until melted about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.  Don't over cook or the chocolate will seize up.

Crust peppermints in a plastic bag using your rolling pin. 

Place popcorn in melted chocolate and mix to coat evenly.  Sprinkle peppermint on popcorn.  Dump out on to waxed paper to dry, about 30 min.  Store in plastic bags or containers up to a week.