Spiked Gingerbread Coffee for the Thanksgiving Aftermath

Another Thanksgiving dinner is in the books. And although two days of cooking boils down to what seems like minutes of eating, it’s always worth it in the end when you hear the happy sounds coming from the dining table, isn’t it?

This year was a little bit different than usual. Instead of the standard Thanksgiving fare, I used the gathering to test out a five-course wine pairing dinner that I’ll be making for the highest bidder at a benefit auction. (More on that later.)

My goal for the actual event is to have as much as possible done ahead of time, to minimize both stress and preparation needed in a foreign kitchen. So for our test-run, my dad and I prepped almost every component of every dish the day before Thanksgiving. We were feeling great after about six hours of cooking and toasted our success with a celebratory glass of wine. All that was left to do were some last minute touches, reheating and assembling. We went into Thanksgiving more relaxed than we’ve ever been. Everything was under control.

This is usually where my story takes a turn for the worse and I tell you that I caught the kitchen on fire, or almost cut my finger off or that Andy accidentally kicked me in the head. But not this time…dinner went off without a hitch. Fingers crossed that it goes as smoothly next time.

Fast forward through the next several days of me being about as lazy as humanly possible. We’ve lounged and read and watched football and napped. Not much cooking has happened, save for heating up some leftovers and frozen pizza. Late into the weekend, I realized I was feeling a bit off, but did my best to ignore what I was feeling. By Sunday morning, my throat felt swollen and my voice raspy. It never fails…one of us is always sick during the holidays, but at least I made it past Thanksgiving this year. And I’m getting it out of the way early so we don’t have to worry about Christmas. Now Andy just needs to keep away from me for a few days.

Since this was our last day of a fantastic long weekend, I was determined to enjoy it. I thought a spiked coffee might be just what the doctor ordered.

Spiked Gingerbread Coffee with Crème de Cacao Whipped Cream

1 ounce gingerbread liqueur
1/2 ounce Amaretto
1/2 ounce coffee liqueur (I used Starbucks)

1/2 ounce heavy cream
freshly brewed hot coffee, to taste

Whipped cream (optional):
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 ounce crème de cacao
1 tablespoon superfine sugar

Combine gingerbread liqueur, Amaretto, coffee liqueur and cream in a mug. Fill with coffee to taste. Top with whipped cream, if desired.

To make whipped cream: pour cream, crème de cacao and sugar into electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Whip on high until peaks form.

This is Christmas in a mug. It made me wish for Bing Crosby and our tree adorned with sparkling lights and ornaments. Coffee, gingerbread, chocolate-tinged whipped cream…it’s rich and flavorful and hard to drink slowly. It will warm your hands and your spirit. I was feeling much better after one of these…

Onto the Christmas season…are you ready? (Have a coffee if you're not...it will help, I promise.)