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Recipes

4 Frappuccino Recipes for When You’re Too Broke to Buy Starbucks

This article is written by a student writer from the Spoon University at St Andrews chapter.

It’s that time of year again: Fall ends, and the green starts to fade from the trees and your pockets. Yea, you’re broke AF. You begin to question how you became a struggling student. Was it the $400 textbooks (possible)? Or maybe the emergency Kraft Dinner (likely)? After all, you’ve been nothing but fiscally responsible. Well… Except for Starbucks.

But you’ve only been to Starbucks twice a week. Or maybe it was twice a day. Except for Monday; you went three times. Or was that Tuesday? It’s hard to say.

If you’re anything like me, you’re basically funding your local Starbucks. So what’s a struggling student in need of a coffee fix to do? Never fear. I have four fantastic frappuccino recipes for you.

If you’re frowning at the screen and asking yourself why I’m pretentious enough to call it a frappuccino (why can’t this girl just call it a frappe?), then there’s a simple explanation. If a frappe is your low-key outfit for a night at the bar, then a frappuccino is your best dress for a runway premiere: it pulls out all the extras. Sprinkles, whipped cream, extra syrup; you name it. The works. Plus, the word “Frappuccino” is a registered trademark of Starbucks. You can’t get more authentic than that.

Here’s what you have to look forward to:

Pumpkin Pie Frappuccino – Okay, okay, you’re probably sick of pumpkin by now. You’ve been force fed pumpkin lattes, pumpkin brownies, pumpkin cheesecake, and pumpkin pumpkin (say what?). But have you tried a pumpkin frappuccino? No? I rest my case.

Chai Latte Frappuccino – A chai latte is like your first celebrity crush — you’ll never give up on it. No matter what other drinks come between you, a chai latte is always your basic backup. And now it’s looking better than ever. You’re welcome.

Gingerbread Frappuccino – Is it ever too early to get in the holiday spirit? Unleash the Christmas fever with this festive frappe. You can even top it with a bit of candy cane sprinkled on the rim. I don’t judge.

Vanilla Bean Frappuccino – Nothing says cozy better than Netflix, fuzzy slippers, and a vanilla bean frappuccino. Plus, vanilla is known as the universal scent, so it’s guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser at study group. Einstein’s Theory of Relativity never tasted so good.

Pumpkin Pie Frappuccino

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 5 minutesCook time: 2 minutesTotal time: 7 minutesServings:3 servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Pour 1/2 cup boiling water into small bowl. Stir in 1/2 cup brown sugar to form a syrup, then refrigerate.

  2. Add milk, pumpkin, mixed spice, and ice to blender.

  3. Once cool, add syrup mixture to blender. Blend until desired consistency.

  4. Garnish with dollop of whipped cream and dash of cinnamon.

Chai Latte Frappuccino

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 5 minutesCook time: 2 minutesTotal time: 7 minutesServings:2 servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Pour 1/2 cup boiling water into a small bowl. Add 4 chai tea bags and 1/2 cup sugar. Stir.

  2. After 10 minutes, remove chai tea bags from bowl. Refrigerate mixture of flavored water and sugar until cool.

  3. Pour milk, ice, and chai tea mixture into blender. Blend until desired consistency.

  4. Top drink with whipped cream.

Gingerbread Frappuccino

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 5 minutesCook time: 2 minutesTotal time: 7 minutesServings:2 servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Pour milk, sugar, dark treacle, ice, cinnamon, ground ginger, and instant coffee into a blender.

  2. Blend until desired consistency.

  3. Garnish with whipped cream.

Vanilla Bean Frappuccino

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 5 minutesCook time: 2 minutesTotal time: 7 minutesServings:2 servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Pour milk, maple syrup, vanilla extract, salt, ice, and instant coffee into blender.

  2. Blend until desired consistency.

  3. Top drink with whipped cream.

Jody Brimacombe

St Andrews '19

Jody is a third-year English major. Her favorite things include green smoothies, eating entire jars of nut butter, and singing in the car. She also has a not-so-secret weakness for trash TV.