Happy Holidays, Everyone
!
The winter holiday season is officially underway, and that can only mean one thing…Fantastic Holiday Treats!
And while I love cupcakes and cookies and such, one of my favorite ways to celebrate this time of the year are the yummo drinks that pop up at Walt Disney World!
There are so many great ones to choose from, but here are a few of my favorites. I can’t wait to have them again this year!
Hot Salted Caramel
For the last few years, a delightful little holiday kiosk has popped up in the Germany Pavilion of Epcot’s World Showcase. They started by serving glühwein and a few other tasty treats. But last year, the spot opened as Prost!, and served up a myriad of treats from Karamell-Küche!
My favorite find? The Hot Salted Caramel!
When I first saw this on the menu, I assumed they meant salted caramel hot chocolate. Which would also be, you know, totally fine. But NO. They meant straight up, hot caramel, in a glass, with a pinch of salt just for fun.
Hot Salted Caramel at Holiday Prost Kiosk in Epcot’s Germany Pavilion
And my oh my…it’s amazing. So rich that you probably won’t be able to finish it, but you’ll relish trying if you’re anything like me. I am still dreaming about this one. All of the richness of that golden, buttery Werther’s Caramel in drink form?? Sign me up!
Glühwein
The classic holiday spiced wine drink has moved to Germany’s Sommerfest this year! Glühwein is the perfect way to keep warm on a chilly day in Epcot (and by chilly, we mean, like, 60 degrees).
Gluhwein in Epcot’s Germany
Spiced Eggnog
It was so much fun checking out the delicious holiday treats at Disney’s Hollywood Studios! And the Streets of America Newsstand Holiday Eats is a great place to snag a snack or a warming beverage right before you head back to check out the Osbourne Family Lights!
If you’re ready for a little break in your day, you must try out the Spiced Eggnog. If Christmas were available in a cup, then this would definitely be in the running for the title.
Spiced Eggnog at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
After all, it’s just not Christmas without a serving of this rich, creamy treat! And spiked with enough “cheer” to keep it interesting, it will warm you up — even though it’s served chilled.
Sea Salt Caramel Hot Cocoa
Okay…so this one isn’t just available at the holidays. But it’s soooooo good, there’s no way I could leave it off the list.
You know how much I lurve salty sweet flavor combos. And salt + caramel?? Is just brilliant. So it’s a no-brainer this one’s tied for the top today. It’s the Sea Salt Caramel Hot Cocoa from Ghirardelli.
Ghirardelli Sea Salt Caramel Hot Cocoa
The creamy, dreamy cup is the perfect cup of hot chocolate. But THEN — they add that glorious caramel and salty topping for sheer perfection. AND — there’s a square of Ghirardelli tucked into the whipped cream.
Peanut Butter Hot Cocoa
Speaking of salty-and-sweet… I highly recommend that you find Promenade Refreshments on your stroll around Epcot’s World Showcase for a warm cup of Peanut Butter Hot Cocoa. If you like Peanut Butter anything, you’re gonna LOVE warming up with this!
Peanut Butter Hot Cocoa in Epcot
Super creamy hot cocoa with a true flavor of peanut butter, it’s the perfect warm up for you, your friends, the kids, the parents, and everyone else you’re traipsing with through Epcot!
Want More Great Info for Visiting Disney at Holiday Time?
We’ve been hard at work, updating the DFB Guide to the Walt Disney World Holidays, 2014 e-Book with all the latest holiday tips and brand new info you NEED to know before you hit the parks this November, December, and January! With 310 pages of detailed information and multiple bonus extras, it WILL save you time and money during the busiest season in Walt Disney World! And it’s here just in time!
And since we want you to save some cash right NOW, we have a special discount for DFB readers (as always!). Get the brand new guide for $3 off the regular purchase price for a limited time! How? Use code JINGLE at the check-out.
The DFB Guide to the Walt Disney World Holidays 2014 e-Book features 310 pages of all the info you need to know (and not JUST food!) before you head to Walt Disney World for the holiday season, including NEW events and holiday happenings, plus over 250 photos.
Don’t forget to pick up your copy for a $3 off using code JINGLE at the check-out! Happy holidays from all of us here at DFB.
Which of these dreamy drinks will you be warming up with this holiday season? Leave a comment and let us know!
Our handy (and portable!) ebook guides make sure you get the best deals and can plan a vacation of a lifetime.
My wife got this during our visit last week. It looked like coffee with it’s whitish, cloudy color. As a non-coffee drinker, it really made me not have any interest in trying it. Then the baby needed feeding, and she asked me to hold the cup. She said you can finish it or chuck it, but it will be cold by the time I’m done. I decided before throwing it away that I would give it a taste. Holy Crap! No exaggeration, it was probably the most amazing drink I’ve ever tried. It literally tasted like liquid caramel. I had been saving room for more food, but I ended up finishing the remaining 3/4 of the cup that was left.
We went back later that night to pick up another for the others in our group, and I decided to ask the ladies in the booth what was in it. They said in their beautiful German accents “caramel.” I replied, “Okay, but caramel can’t be made to thin out that much, there has to be some other liquifying ingredient.” She says again in her thick accent, “I don’t know…butter?” I laughed at the thought that she either really didn’t know, or wasn’t allowed to give out the secret recipe, but I really didn’t care. Anyone that can figure out how to make this liquid gold treasure drink, has the right to keep the recipe to themselves. You HAVE to try this. If you love caramel, I can’t see how you wouldn’t find it in the top 3 specialty drinks you’ve ever tried.
Any clue how long the Prost kiosk will be around this year? I tried to get it last year but it was already gone. 🙁 I was really looking forward to it too!
Jeff — That’s exactly how I felt about it!! I was amazed!
I realized I didn’t specify in my comment that I was talking about the Hot Salted Caramel Beverage from Prost!.
Everytime I think about having a cup of cocoa at home, i always imagine that it looks like that salted caramel hot chocolate from giradelli but it usually ends up looking more like the cup of pb hot chocolate (execpt w/o what I expect is a wonderful taste :()
I had the Hot Salted Caramel at Holiday Prost Kiosk in Epcot’s Germany Pavilion for the first time this year. I heard about it last year and was like pass. Well, it was amazing and my only complaint was my little mug was about 1/2 cup filled not even close to as much in this photo. I looked around at others drinking it and their cups were filled to the tip top. I don’t know why I only got one mouth full of drink but that’s all the girls gave me. It was burning hot, burned my tongue my first tiny sip. Thankfully I took only a tiny sip so it didn’t burn me too much, taste buds still intact, all that matters. After I allowed it to cool down I felt like I was drinking what goes on a caramel apple. How did they make it so thin, I am with you Jeff! I don’t know, really don’t care, am curious, but its fabulous! I also am curious how long this sticks around? I’m a weekday passholder so I’m on blockout dates now. Man, I’d love to have this when it really gets cooler here in FL. This past December 80 degree nites killed my desire for the gingerbread cocoa I normally get. I can only imagine what the caramel would taste like when its cold out. I will get another and make it an annual must have as long as Epcot keeps making it.
I would SO like to try the Hot Salted Caramel from the German Pavilion. OMG it looks absolutely delicious!
Because of your ravings, I had the “salt caramel cocoa” at Ghirardelli last year and it was very disappointing….not much flavor of any kind, including salt or chocalate
Took time to head over to Epcot last night and try some of the holiday offerings. Ended up leaving very underwhelmed. The park was not very crowded, but the kiosks seemed to be in slight chaos. I went to the stand at the American pavilion, where they serve cookies and drinks. The place was out of Cider before we got there, and apparently almost out of cocoa. We ordered the cocoa drinks, paid, then she tells us we’d have to wait until the new cocoa arrived. Then the line proceeded to build up with people expecting to get drinks, and they never told those people they were out. After waiting for over ten minutes, the guy finally arrived. Honestly, I don’t know what is going on lately with Disney. I love all of these seasonal items, but it seems like the management at these parks is going downhill. Anyone else experiencing these troubles?
At the Promenade, I had the hot cocoa with a shot of caramel liqueur… it was absolutely fantastic! If you haven’t tried it yet hopefully it will be around next year!
Keith- Yes, I also read the rave reviews about the “salt caramel cocoa” at Ghirardelli so last year with family in town we went to downtown Disney and I ordered a cup of it. It was mostly, like 90%, whip cream, a little bit of what tasted like hot chocolate, and caramel sauce on top of the whip cream. I too didn’t taste the caramel or the salt. If you love caramel like I do go to Epcot and get the Hot Salted Caramel at Holiday Prost Kiosk in Epcot’s Germany Pavilion. That made up for the Ghirardelli drink that was terrible, I will NEVER get that nasty thing again.
Chris- Yes, you are not the only one. I am with you. Lately we’ve had more money to spend on Disney treats and been eating and trying more stuff for the last year at WDW. The wait time for food is not only crazy but the food is either wrong, cold, or something. The cast members don’t offer a freebie or a coupon to return the next visit or anything to make up for the wait or even apologize. I get eye rolls that’s it. At Star Wars weekends this past year I am highly allergic to mayo I order a burger without mayo. Had to have the manager come up to approve my allergy! Manager took about 30 mins to get there. Meanwhile my family stands there with me waiting. Then they took the orders of the rest of my family while we were waiting their food came up and mine still hadn’t been ordered. Finally was approved by manger and then they had to cook my burger. What a mess!!
Last week at Epcot’s Electric Umbrella we stood behind two families and watched some cast member running up and down the isle looking for the people who’s food he had on the tray. We were the 3rd family in line we thought no one way could be ours we just ordered. The food sat there for another 20 mins while the families ahead of us got their meals. Then we come up with our receipt and yep, you guessed it that was our food the one the cast member was running around with. All that time we were last in line. No one even bothered to ask us for our receipt. Why were we served way before 2 other families, beyond me. New management or something. As much as Disney food cost I’m really getting upset no one says sorry or tries to offer us a free drink or side item.
I had the wonderful hot salted caramel in Epcot last year, and actually ended up making a special trip to Epcot when we hadn’t planned to just to get more. I asked them if they had the recipe, and they handed me a little business card from Werther’s that had a magical URL: http://www.werthers-original.us/caramel-recipes/caramel-desserts-treats/hot-salted-caramel
Once we got home, we ordered the Werther’s baking caramels online and have made this drink with great success several times. Keeping it warm in a crock pot made us the hit of our holiday party! Even though I can make this goodness any time at home, I still plan to head to the Germany pavilion as soon as I get to Epcot this weekend.
Katt — That’s awesome!! Thanks for the recipe!
Katt I looked at the recipe online is it the one labeled Caramel Hot Chocolate?
With 2 tsp. instant coffee and 6oz bittersweet chopped choc.?
I did not say use baking caramels? Do I have the wrong recipe?
Joni- It looks like the old link is no longer working at Werther’s. They must have updated their site.
In light of that, there are other places online that the recipe can be found, like here: http://www.thedisneydiner.com/2014/01/hot-salted-caramel-recipe-from-karamell.html
Wow, I’m drinking the Hot Salted Caramel right now and it IS delicious! Only they changed the name to Caramel Kiss!
Erica — YUMM!
After a bit of intense internet sleuthing, I have been able to find the original recipe for the hot salted-caramel drink, aka Caramel Kiss, on Werther’s website.
https://web.archive.org/web/20141220011230/http://www.werthers-original.us/caramel-recipes/caramel-desserts-treats/hot-salted-caramel
But it appears that the Werther’s Original Baking Caramels are no longer made or are no longer available in the US. You could use their Werther’s Orginal Chewy Caramels or even try substituting Kraft caramels if that’s all you have available. The important part would be keeping the ratio of caramels to milk the same as the original recipe, which is 3oz (or 88g) by weight to 12oz of milk. Don’t rely on the number of caramel pieces that the recipe calls for. Rely on a digital scale to get the proper amount of caramels.
Kye — Thanks for the information — Sounds delicious!