How to Make Your Own Pumpkin Spice Lattes

With Fall officially here, there’s nothing holding me back from my full-on, unapologetic, completely out of control pumpkin spice latte obsession.

Well, nothing except a lack of funds to purchase several every day.

No matter, I have found a way around this little detail – my own pumpkin spice latte recipe.

You see, last year I bought myself an espresso machine. At $150, it paid for itself in a month given I’d been buying a latte a day at that point.

But that’s only half the battle.

Given that Starbucks sells every syrup they make to the public EXCEPT Pumpkin Spice, it was time to get creative.

I searched the Internet and found a mighty tasty recipe for pumpkin spice syrup, made from scratch. I happily made this until about May.

At that point, I hit a little snag.

Did you know that stores on a whole stop stocking canned pumpkin in the summer? The unadulterated gall of some grocery outlets.

However, they do tend to sell that super-lazy-premixed-spices-with-packed-pumpkin-just-add-evaporated-milk-to-make-a-pie canned stuff (a.k.a. Easy Pumpkin Mix).

I was forced to give it a try.

And, you know what? It tasted just as good, didn’t cost as much in spices, and was easier.

So, voila, for about 50 cents a steaming tasty cup, here is how to have a pumpkin spice latte on a budget and time pinch.

Pumpkin Spice Syrup
1 ½ cups water
1 ½ cups white sugar
3 tablespoons of Easy Pumpkin Pie Mix (more if you like it stronger)

• In a pot over medium heat, dissolve sugar in water. Once sugar is dissolved, add pumpkin. Allow to cook 6-8 minutes, stirring frequently. Do not boil.
• Allow to cool
• Strain through cheese cloth or strainer and pour into small container to store in the fridge
• Add 1 ½ tablespoons of syrup for each shot of espresso, or for iced drink, mix it with the espresso before adding the cold milk.
• Top with whipped cream and a few pinches of nutmeg.

My own tips:
I make a triple batch.

Now, the trick is the pumpkin pie mix comes in a big old can, and you’re not going to use it all. Use what you need, then put the rest in ice cube trays and freeze. Once frozen, pop them out and put them in a freezer bag. I use a cube and a half per batch of syrup because I like the stronger taste.

If you’re really feeling all Martha Stewart and have the time and extra money, you can replace the pumpkin mix with the following and feel really special you did it from scratch:

4 cinnamon sticks
½ teaspoon of ground cloves
½ teaspoon of ground ginger
1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
3 tablespoons of pumpkin puree

Drool away….

Tagged as: recipies