Spiced Milk Steamers

After an unusually warm October, the weather here has gotten chilly the last few weeks- and that has me craving a hot mug of something cozy all day every day! My 5-year-olds like to get in on the coziness too, but most of the kid-friendly warm drinks, like hot chocolate or hot apple cider, are so sugary. Today I've got another option for a kid-friendly, non-caffeinated warm drink that has a lot less sugar: milk steamers!

I hope I'm not the last person on earth to discover these things.... I have gotten steamed milk for my daughters a couple of times at Starbucks when we went together, but I didn't know it was an actual thing until recently. I started making them for myself on cold winter evenings last year and this year I've loved trying some new flavor combinations!

The basic idea is simple: add some spices and/or sweeteners to some milk and heat it up. Done. I have this latte maker which can froth and heat milk, so I use that, but you can easily make it in a saucepan- just heat everything together on medium low heat, stirring occasionally with a whisk.

Obviously the sky's the limit in terms of flavor combinations- if you aren't worried about the sugar you can do it like Starbucks and just add a little flavored syrup- but here are some of my favorite things to add to my milk steamers:

Sweeteners: honey, molasses
Spices: cinnamon, cardamom, ginger
Extracts: vanilla, peppermint

My absolute favorite combination right now is a little cardamom and molasses. So cozy!

Have you ever tried milk steamers before? What are some of your favorite ways to flavor them? If you've never had one before, give it a shot- it's a really great way to mix up your tea/ coffee/ hot chocolate routine and unwind on a cold evening :)

If you want more hot drink ideas, don't miss my chai tea recipe and my ideas for spicing up your coffee at home:

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