Lighten The Load

As you know, I'm a sucker for Starbucks seasonal drinks. Lately Matt and I have been going a lot and I'm starting to feel the guilt from all those peppermint mochas. I still haven't gotten over all the pumpkin spice latte guilt from Fall.

I thought I'd do a lighter version of the Caramel Brulee Latte. This is Matt's seasonal drink of choice right now and although the calories don't mean a thing to him, I thought it'd be fun to make them at home and lighten them up a bit.

I actually don't even like the Caramel Brulee Latte at SB. It's way to sweet for my liking and the flavors are a little too chemically tasting for me. I really enjoyed this at home though. It had just the right amount of sweetening for me, the caramel flavor was strong and it had just a hint of vanilla.

A tall 12 oz Caramel Brulee Latte at Starbucks, made with whole milk and no whipped cream is 300 calories. After doing some math (eek!)- this drink is roughly 160 calories. You're also getting more then the 12 ounces you'd get in a tall drink at SB. All in all, I think it's a great substitute. Also, you can always use 1 or 2% milk instead of whole and that will reduce the calories by about 30 more. As a side note, I didn't use espresso. I'm eyeing this espresso maker right now. It was on sale a couple weeks ago for a really good price, I probably missed my opportunity :(. For the time being, I just brewed coffee on the strong setting. You could also make it in a french press and that will give you a stronger brewed coffee.

Caramel Brulee Latte

You will need:

• 1 cup strong brewed coffee 
• 1/2 cup steamed milk
• 1 tbsp caramel sauce
• 1/8 tsp vanilla extract
• additional sugar, if desired (I added 1 tsp sugar in the raw)

Simply brew your coffee and fill your mug 1/2 way, approximately 1 cup, depending on the size of your mug. Add caramel sauce, vanilla, sugar and stir.

Heat the milk and froth it, you can whisk it to help froth it up if you don't have a frother or emulsifier with whisk attachment, but you may not get a very good amount of foam (look here for an idea on how to froth without a frother!). Add milk, holding back foam. Spoon the foam onto your coffee and drizzle with caramel if you'd like. Enjoy!

I give it an A+. It was really great :). Just think- you have two and it'll still only be as bad as one from SB!