The weekend…where did it go?  It always goes by too fast, but we had a fun one!  We went to the Olive Branch Christmas parade and the kids had a great time.  We got to sit on a grassy hill and watch all the marching bands and floats go by.

Today we are making some competition style-ribs to keep our chops up and work on some flavor profiles.  And, we get to have ribs to dinner, yay!  We are really gearing up early for the next BBQ season and have a lot of contests planned.

Today I made the third and final “copycat” recipe of the Starbucks holiday drinks – the Caramel Brulée Latte.  I really thought about how to get a good caramel flavor in a healthy drink.  What do we use to make caramel?  Sugar, butter, and cream.  This drink is caramel-esqe…I used grass-fed butter, Swerve sweetener (one of my baking favorites) and almond milk to make this healthy and – dare I say – (kind of) bulletproof.

Make it keto:  leave off the toppings or choose a keto topping like chopped lily’s chocolate and keto whipped cream.

Brain boost:  add 1 Tbsp. MCT oil before frothing

For these copycat drinks I really wanted to have some festive toppings…because it’s Christmas, and why not?  For the caramel latte topping I chose some cookie crumbles.  I used Trader Joes gluten-free Salted Toffee cookies and they are REALLY GOOD!!!

Even with the topping I used, this drink has 2.8g sugar as opposed to 47g of sugar at you-know-where!  It also has 17g fat (see…keto!),  5.8g NET carbs.  Not bad, especially for a treat.

I really enjoyed this drink and I think you will, too!

Check out my Peppermint Mocha HERE

and my Toasty White Chocolate Mocha HEREé

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Caramel Brulée Latte – Starbucks Copycat recipe

Ingredients:

• long shot of espresso or 3-4 oz brewed coffee
• 8 oz. almond milk
• 1 tbsp grass-fed butter (like Kerrygold)
• 1 tbsp Swerve sweetener (or natural sugar alternative of choice)
• splash of vanilla extract
• Optional:  whipped cream (I used dairy-free) and gluten-free cookie crumbles for topping (I used 1/2 cookie)

In a small saucepan, melt butter and Swerve together until brown and bubbling.  Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

Add almond milk and vanilla and heat until very hot.  Whisk vigorously or use frother to froth mixture.  Remove from heat and pour into mug with brewed coffee.

Top with whipped cream and crumbled cookies, ENJOY!

<3

Shannon