Gingersnap White Russian

I’ve been on a mission to create a series of really great syrups, mostly for lattes (check out this Maple Peanut Butter Latte). But I realized some of the syrups I’ve been creating would go amazing in alcoholic beverages as well, like this Gingersnap White Russian. The rich molasses and spice heavy syrup goes amazing with Kahlua and heavy cream, creating the perfect cookie inspired holiday beverage.

The syrup mission started with my cinnamon maple latte obsession. It was by far my favorite holiday drink of the season. But there was one thing that could be improved upon. While drinking my latte, I would get towards the bottom of the cup and encounter a massive loogie of cinnamon. Also sometimes I would feel a grainy texture.

I love spices. And I love drinks that have spices in them. But I don’t love clumps of gelatinous spices or grainy lattes. That’s when I began to create spice infused syrups, which really help improve drinks that are spice heavy, like gingersnap beverages.

Gingersnaps have a crazy amount of spices in them for cookies, so making a drink that tastes like them really benefits from infusing whole spices into the liquids. Which is what I did for this Gingersnap White Russian. I actually developed and used the syrup first for Gingersnap Lattes but then thought it would taste pretty awesome in a White Russian. And I was right, which is why I’m sharing it today. I always like to share a beverage with a holiday twist to it (like this S’mores White Russian).

A word of caution though: molasses is extremely strong tasting. Trust the syrup though. It may not taste awesome by itself, but when added to beverages it is the perfect strength.

5 from 4 votes

Gingersnap White Russian

Gingersnap syrup, infused with all the spices of the cookie, gives this Gingersnap White Russian an amazing holiday twist.

Servings 1

Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Ingredients

Gingersnap Syrup

• 1 cup molasses
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 whole nutmeg
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 3 whole cloves
• 2 tablespoons ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon crystalized ginger chips

Gingersnap White Russian

• 2 ounces vodka
• 1.5 ounces Kahlua
• 1 ounce Gingersnap Syrup
• heavy cream to taste

Instructions

Gingersnap Syrup

• Combine all the ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a boil on medium heat.
• Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Strain out the spices and store in a mason jar in the refrigerator. 

Gingersnap White Russian

• Add the vodka, Kahlua, and Gingersnap Syrup to an Old Fashioned glass filled with ice or one large ice cube.
• Pour a large splash of heavy cream in the glass and stir.

Author: Megan Wells

Course: Beverages

Lessons in Restraint

I’d say most of the time I’m pretty good at balancing my desires with what I need. But the holidays are a time where that becomes harder. All the treats and sweets, all the indulgent food, everything starts getting so tempting. And it gets pretty easy to cross the line of balance and dive into excess. I still have to watch my fat intake, which is getting increasingly hard because of the holidays but also because of my increasing hunger. The more you eat, the more fat you ingest, even when eating low fat food.

The consequences aren’t what they used to be. I suffer no pain. My whole body doesn’t break down. I don’t need hospitalization. But I have accidents, don’t sleep well, and have to go to the bathroom a lot.

Because of what’s happened in the past it feels weird to complain about this. But it’s what I’m struggling with now. Last week I had a “cheat day.” It was amazing. Until the evening. Then I was cheated out of sleep and bodily control. This has happened before and in some ways it’s me pushing the boundaries, asking what my new body can do. But I think maybe it’s something I’m always going to have to monitor. I guess that will be my New Year’s resolution.