pumpkin spice latte
September 27th, 2009
Amidst all the joys of autumn, there seems to be one thing that often stands above the rest for the coffee-loving world — the return of the “pumpkin spice” drinks!! While I try to steer my business to local coffee shops, this classic trademark drink of Starbucks is undoubtedly a favorite. Mmmmm…everything about it seems to celebrate the feeling of fall. So when I happened to see an article on Apartment Therapy this week with a simple recipe on how to make this at home, I had to give it a try!
I’m happy to report that it was absolutely delicious! :) No surprise, really, with such a classic list of ingredients. But the flavors were fantastic, and I was actually amazed at how well the blender worked with frothing up the milk. (Maybe that’s a well-known trick, but I’d never tried it!) I did end up modifying the recipe a bit to add in a little more coffee flavor, but overall, it’s a great, flavorful recipe.
And of course, being able to make nearly a week’s worth of lattes at home for the price of one at a coffee shop is always a bonus… :)
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Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe
(Adapted from Apartment Therapy)
Ingredients:
- 2 cups milk (your choice – skim, 1%, 2%, whole, soy, etc.)
- 2 tablespoons canned pumpkin OR 1 teaspoon of Torani Pumpkin Spice Syrup (your choice)
- 1 or 2 tablespoons sugar or sugar substitute
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1-2 shots espresso (about 1/4 cup of espresso or 2/3 cup of very strong brewed coffee if you don’t have an espresso machine.)
Method:
In a saucepan combine milk, pumpkin and sugar and cook on medium heat, stirring, until steaming. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and spice, transfer to a blender and process for 15 seconds until foamy. If you don’t have a blender, don’t worry about it – just whisk the mixture really well with a wire whisk.
Pour into a large mug or two mugs. Add the espresso on top.
Optional: Top with whipped cream and sprinkle pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, or cinnamon on top.
Ali’s Tip:
For the almond-lovers out there, try substituting almond extract instead of vanilla in this sometime. Yum!!
Your pumpkin spice latte looks wonderful… One of my favorite fall drinks! If you have a stick blender (immersion blender), you can actually use that right in the sauce pan to froth the milk. Mine has a whisk attachment, which actually works really well!
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One of the few things that helps me to make it through a northwest winter is the return of pumpkin spice lattes. I can’t wait to try this at home and be able to control the sweetness level too :) Thanks!
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The best thing about the return of fall…pumpkin! And the pumpkin spice latte!! This could very well become a saturday ritual! :o) Thanks for sharing the recipe!
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I love this Fall drink, the flavors of pumpkin and nutmeg in a warm coffee mug, as the leaves are changing color.. ahh! Like pumpkin pie in a mug. I can’t wait to try this recipe, thanks for sharing!! :-)
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i can’t even begin to estimate the number of pumpkin spice lattes i made when i worked at starbucks. ridiculous. this is an awesome way to enjoy the gooness at home AND save a buck or twenty. :)
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and by “gooness,” i of course mean goodness. :)
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Hello, Just wanted to let you know I found this recipe on Tasty Kitchen and tried it today. I loved it! Even my husband liked it and he normally doesn’t like coffee drinks. Thanks for sharing.
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I used to make a similar drink whilst working at a local owned coffee shop. We used brown sugar for the sweetener. Yummy
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Say… do you think it’d be possible to make a syrup of the pumpkin mixture and keep it in the fridge for anywhere from a few days to a week or two? I LOVE pumpkin spice lattes but I calculated it out and the first few weeks of fall have already cost me more than probably all of spring and summer in terms of coffee purchases :/ And, it’d be handy to have something available for quick use since it seems I’m always on the go these days…
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ali Reply:
October 16th, 2009 at 9:59 am
Oooh – that’s a fantastic idea! As long as the milk is still good, I imagine that the mixture would at least stay fresh for a few days (and probably a week). If you try it, would love to hear how it turns out! :)
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