The Genius Hack for Making Your Iced Coffee Taste Like a Holiday Starbucks Specialty Drink

For many people, it's almost time for Christmas, which also means it's holiday baking season! And what goes better with baking than a good cup of coffee? I love baking a batch of cookies and sipping on a Starbucks coffee—it's like a caffeine-fueled dessert—and one of my favorite drinks this time of the year is Starbucks' Sugar Cookie Latte.

This seasonal favorite perfectly captures the cozy, festive flavors of a classic holiday sugar cookie and no matter if it's served cold or hot, it's a great way to enjoy Starbucks coffee. This latte is made with espresso, steamed milk and a sugar cookie-flavored syrup that gives it a buttery, vanilla-y sweetness. It’s topped with a sprinkle of colorful red and green sugar crystals, adding a playful, holiday-inspired touch and a bit of a crunchy texture.

Sadly, I don't always have time to run out and grab one of these sweet drinks, and they aren't always on the menu, either. That's why this copycat Starbucks Sugar Cookie Latte shared by content creator @jenglufling immediately got my attention. Not only does it allow me to make this drink any time I want, but it uses an ingredient I wasn't expecting and I knew I had to try it.

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How to Make a Copycat Starbucks Sugar Cookie Latte

Jen makes her sugar cookie latte with Pillsbury Sugar Cookie dough! She places one of the raw Pillsbury Christmas cookies (it's safe to eat raw) in her mug and then makes an espresso over the top of it. She stirs the drink and the dough seems to just disappear. Then, she pours the espresso over some ice and then adds in International Delight Sugar Cookie coffee creamer and stirs again. Finally, she tops her drink with cold foam and red and green sprinkles. That's it!

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Not only did this drink look absolutely delicious, but I was amazed that the dough just melted as easily as it did. I have a Nespresso machine, so I was able to make my Sugar Cookie Latte the same way Jen made hers, but you can make this drink without a special coffeemaker. Regular hot coffee will work just fine!

And yes- the cookie dough does melt! I had to break up the dough a bit to get it to fully dissolve, but after a few vigorous stirs it completely disappeared! I added my espresso to ice and topped it with whipped cream and holiday sprinkles, but you can also serve this drink hot without anything on top of it.

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What I Thought of the Copycat Starbucks Sugar Cookie Latte

I love the Starbucks Sugar Cookie Latte, but this DIY version may be my go-to drink this year. My husband, who normally doesn't like sweet coffee drinks, even loved this and said it was "really good."

To me, it tastes just like the Starbucks drink, but the texture is better. The cookie dough seemed to thicken the latte a bit, so it had a great texture that felt more like a dessert than just a coffee drink. This is the perfect holiday treat—easy to make, simple to customize and oh-so-sweet!

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