Decorating holiday gingerbread houses goes hand-in-hand with nostalgia! My mom would go all-out to create a beautiful gingerbread cottage and I would arrange (and eat) dozens of candies to make doors, walkways, and rooftops. She’d make a big batch of royal icing to stick everything together, warn me not to eat it because it had egg whites, and I’d sneak lots of tastes anyway.

Whisk up a big pot of this warm gingerbread cocoa for the whole family to sip on while you decorate your house, gingerbread or real! Molasses, fresh ginger, and nutmeg give it just the right balance of spicy-sweet comfort.

Our little neighborhood in Idaho had a drive-thru coffee shack on the way to town, and ordering steamers there made me feel so grown-up. I can’t remember what flavor was my favorite, but they always loaded it up with whipped cream and set a chocolate-covered espresso bean on the lid. (I loved that little sugar-coated caffeine bomb, although in retrospect my mom probably didn’t.)

I hope this 12 Drinks of Christmas series sparks all sorts of new ideas for celebrating the holidays! I’m sharing a new drink recipe every Tuesday, Thursday, & Saturday from Thanksgiving ’til Christmas. Thursday drinks are family-friendly favorites; the rest of the week is cocktails, mulled wines, sangrias, and all sorts of boozy party goodies to celebrate the season. Cheers!

Buying fresh whole nutmeg is a little splurge but the difference in flavor is just incredible. Even our local grocery had a little tin of them stocked with the rest of the spices, so you might be nicely surprised to find them locally.

Do you decorate a gingerbread house or other cookie shapes? I’m loving all the new kits that are available online these days like castles and ninjas, but there’s just something about an old-school house!

12 Drinks of Christmas


Mistletoe Kiss Cocktail	Peppermint Hot Cocoa	German Mulled Glühwein	Flying Fig Cocktail

Sous Vide Spiced Eggnog	Marzipan Dream Cocktail	Merry & Bright Cocktail	Gingerbread Spice Steamer

Christmas Cider Sangria	Frosty Flurry Cocktail	Cardamom Honey Chai	Pomegranate Champagne Mule

Whisk up a big pot of spicy-sweet warm comfort with molasses, fresh ginger, & nutmeg for everyone to sip while you decorate your house, gingerbread or real!

Print Recipe

Gingerbread Spice Steamer

Whisk up a big pot of spicy-sweet warm comfort with molasses, fresh ginger, & nutmeg for everyone to sip while you decorate your house, gingerbread or real!

Cook Time5

Total Time5

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: American

Servings: 1 drink

Calories: 209kcal

Author: Mountain Cravings

Ingredients

For One Drink

1 cup whole milk
1 T. molasses
1 t. fresh ginger
1/4 t. ground nutmeg
pinch of salt

For a Pitcher

4 cups whole milk
1/4 cup molasses
4 t. fresh ginger
1 t. ground nutmeg
1/4 t. salt

Instructions

Whisk all ingredients together in a small saucepan (for one drink) or a large saucepan (for a pitcher) over medium heat.
Bring to a simmer, whisking occasionally, until molasses has completely melted.
Pour into mugs. Serve hot with extra nutmeg on top.

Print Recipe