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!!
Nice blog you have…going to have to try this…thank you!
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!
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!
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!
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!! :-)
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. :)
and by “gooness,” i of course mean goodness. :)
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.
I used to make a similar drink whilst working at a local owned coffee shop. We used brown sugar for the sweetener. Yummy
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…
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! :)