Recipe from Eat Like a Gilmore: The Unofficial Cookbook for Fans of Gilmore Girls by Kristi Carlson.

Last Christmas, my mom gave me a copy of Lauren Graham’s memoir Talking As Fast As I Can with a copy of Eat Like a Gilmore. Needless to say, I was in heaven (aka Stars Hollow). I couldn’t do a review of Lauren Graham’s book without including recipes from the ultimate authority on Gilmore eating, Kristi Carlson.

Lorelai Gilmore and coffee are so closely intertwined, Lorelai even speculates in the Gilmore Girls revival Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life that she was coffee, in another life. It seemed only appropriate to include Lorelai’s favorite version of her favorite beverage with Lauren Graham’s book.

Below is a passage from Kristi Carlson’s fabulous cookbook with its accompanying recipe. One of the coolest features of this book is that Carlson gives 2 options for the coffee recipes: “The Sookie Way” and “The Lorelai Way.” Naturally, “The Sookie Way” is the from-scratch version of these recipes, while “The Lorelai Way” is the shortcut version. For the sake of this post, I concocted “The Sookie Way,” but I have no doubt that “The Lorelai Way” will be just as good:

 

This is a great beverage to have on days of reconciliation. It’s basically a cappuccino that had an intense fling with chocolate, while seeing some caramel at the same time – then tried to cover the whole ordeal up with extra whipped cream.

Ingredients

Caramel Sauce:

1 c Brown sugar, packed

½ c Butter

¼ c Milk

1 t Vanilla

Mocha Sauce:

2-3 oz Chocolate, high quality, 60-85% cacao

Whipped Cream:

½ c Heavy cream

1 T Superfine Sugar

¼ t Vanilla

Latte:

1 c Milk

1 oz Espresso shot(s)

Chocolate chips and/or chocolate shavings, for garnish

 

Directions

Make the Caramel Sauce: Combine brown sugar, butter, and milk in a saucepan and bring to a boil until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.

Make the Mocha Sauce: Melt the chocolate (make sure there’s enough for drizzle too) in a saucepan over medium heat.

Make the Whipped Cream: Add heavy cream, superfine sugar, and vanilla to a small mixing bowl. With a mixer set on medium speed, beat until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

Make the Latte: Pour some Mocha Sauce into an 8-ounch mug (about 1-2 tablespoons for a medium-size mug). Pour some caramel sauce in there as well, 1 tablespoon, more or less depending on how sweet your teeth are. Steam up milk of choice, making sure to froth well. Pull two shots into mug, then “free” pour milk into mug (this means don’t hold back the foam; pour it as is – thus the body of the drink is light and frothy) – be sure to leave about 2 inches of room. Top with extra Whipped Cream and drizzle Mocha and Caramel Sauces over the whipped tower. Now, sprinkle some chocolate shavings and/or chips over it. If you have plans that evening, cancel them. Nothing is going to be more exciting than this.