5 Starbucks Secret Menu Holiday Drinks Created By Tasting Table Staff

The weather outside may be frightful, but our holiday-inspired creations at Starbucks are anything but. Here at Tasting Table, we know that the winter months bring a whole slew of tasty food and drink choices to your mugs and plates, and we're never short on great recommendations. So, we asked our staff to share their favorite Starbucks secret menu creations to enjoy throughout the season, and they didn't disappoint.

Whether you like spicy, sweet, or bright flavors, our writers shared a little something special for everyone. As with all fan-made secret menu creations from Starbucks, you won't be able to order any of these drinks by name. Instead, you'll need to describe the drink to your barista when ordering. If the ordering process feels intimidating, never fear: The Starbucks app is fairly robust and allows you to order nearly anything without even approaching the cash register. We hope that these drinks will be the perfect fuel to help you celebrate the season and grant you a boost on those gift shopping expeditions.

When I think of Starbucks secret menu drinks, more often than not, it's customizations brought to you by syrups and cold foam flavors. Every now and again, you'll see one with a milk substitute, but even then, said substitution is typically a plant-based milk. For my holly jolly Starbucks order, I wanted a decadent, warm, sweet, Christmas-morning-worthy-creation, so I went with vanilla sweet cream as my milk. This one is not for the faint of heart, and as a lactose-sensitive coffee drinker, I made a risky choice, but it was worth it.

For this cup of magic, begin with a White Chocolate Mocha and swap out half the eponymous syrup pumps for hazelnut. Request vanilla sweet cream for the milk instead of 2% and choose Blonde Espresso Roast (my favorite of Starbucks' three types of espresso). You'll end up with a drink that's perfectly nutty with a blanket of white chocolate, all wrapped in a warm vanilla coat. The Blonde Espresso Roast helps keep the bite of the coffee to a minimum, making for the most enjoyable sipping experience imaginable. I enjoyed this one warm on a chilly Florida evening (believe it or not), but you can certainly get it iced instead.

Even though I worked at Starbucks, I still get a little nervous about ordering secret menu drinks. There are just so many customizations. However, each of these changes can be made right in the Starbucks app, so there's no need to worry about that awkward conversation at the register.

Last summer, I stumbled upon a Starbucks secret menu drink I hadn't heard of while looking for something new to order. It was called a Snowflake, and it combined a hot vanilla latte with two pumps of peppermint syrup. Never passing on an opportunity to incorporate vanilla into my coffee (as evidenced by me ranking La Colombe's Vanilla Draft Latte No. 1), I ordered the drink. The peppermint added an icy twist to the sweet subtlety of the vanilla flavor, but overpowered it just a bit. Wanting to improve upon my experience, I went back and modified the order to include more of the creamy vanilla I was craving.

I started with the same base but asked for the vanilla latte to be half-sweet. But, wait, you ask: Won't subtracting vanilla syrup counter your desire for more vanilla taste? In this case, no, because in addition to the two pumps of peppermint syrup, I also chose to add vanilla sweet cream cold foam. This adds a heavenly layer of frothy vanilla flavor that goes toe to toe with the peppermint instead of being overwhelmed. 

I dubbed this drink a Melted Snowflake, for its snowy white appearance and also because you will have to drink it fast in order to not lose the magic of the heady foam. Alternatively, if you order it chilled (with less ice, of course), you won't have this issue, and it will be doubly refreshing with the vanilla mint flavor on ice. This drink is very sweet, hinging on an overindulgence, so you can also use a plain latte or coffee as the base to reduce the amount of sugar.

I stumbled upon an off-menu masterpiece at Starbucks after a particularly warm LA winter's day: an Iced Chai Latte with two shots of espresso, crowned with the seasonal gingerbread cold foam. It's refreshing and lightly sweet, with just enough kick to get me through the afternoon. The warm spices of the chai work well with the gingerbread spices in the cold foam. Every layer of flavor complements the other, and the drink feels indulgent but not overbearing. It's the kind of pick-me-up that puts a little extra sparkle in your day.

I personally get this drink made dairy-free. I always order it with oat milk in the drink itself and the nondairy version of the gingerbread cold foam. The result is just as decadent but kinder to my stomach — absolute perfection! The drink also works when prepared hot and enjoyed on a crisp December stroll to look at Christmas lights.

I love winter seasonal drinks. While gingerbread and peppermint are quite delicious, sometimes I'm in the mood for something subtler and not too cloying. I call this drink a Warming Latte because it combines a couple of seasonal syrups, cinnamon dolce and chestnut praline, to create a tasty holiday beverage. Start by ordering a hot Caffè Latte as your base. Then ask to add two pumps of chestnut praline syrup and two pumps of cinnamon dolce syrup. I did a chestnut praline topping and finished it off with cinnamon powder topping.

The praline has a light sweetness, while the powdered cinnamon ramps up the warming flavors of the latte. This is a more neutral-tasting holiday drink for those moments when you want something elevated but not overly festive. It has that nuttiness similar to what you can expect from hazelnut, but with a cinnamon twist. I got 2% milk and no whipped cream to keep it lighter, but you can customize it to your liking. It has a sweet, creamy, buttery, nutty taste, but it's not as sugary as a peppermint mocha. I could drink this any time of year; if you like cinnamon or hazelnut flavors, you should try this.

I'm typically not one for overly sugary or complicated coffee orders, but when the air is extra chilly and crisp and the temperature starts to dip into those frightful low 40- and, dare I say, 30-degree temperatures, I can't help but want to get as cozy as possible with my hot beverages. Enter: the Roasted Toasted Nut Macchiato. To create this sweet treat, I order a grande hazelnut almond milk macchiato with one and a half pumps of white chocolate mocha syrup, one pump of vanilla, whipped cream, and caramel drizzle on top.

When I take a sip of this rich, creamy coffee, it immediately transports me somewhere else. I'm walking through Rockefeller Plaza in the thick of the holiday season, bundled up in my thickest scarf and hat, and that sudden yet enjoyable aroma of sweet roasted nuts crashes into my olfactory cortex like a wave. The almond milk and hazelnut syrup in the drink deliver a warm, roasted nut flavor, and the white chocolate mocha syrup and the vanilla add just the right sweetness to make this flavor-forward yet light and balanced. The whipped cream adds that extra layer of decadence, and while the caramel drizzle does bring some sweet treacly notes to each sip, it's more for aesthetics than anything else.