Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte
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This is the BEST homemade pumpkin spice latte you’ll ever have. It’s way better than any coffee shop version and only takes a few minutes to whip up at home! And unlike Starbucks, this pumpkin spice latte actually contains pumpkin!
Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte: oh, you sweet, roasty toasty, fall festive, milky, whipped cream-y, perfection. You just make me so happy. Don’t cha just wanna bury your whole face in this whipped cream mountain? Oh, just me? Oh, TMI? Sorry, not sorry!
Read that slowly one more time, so that the magic of this pumpkin spice latte can transfer through the computer screen and into your mouth and give you a glimpse of how ridiculously, mind spinning this latte really is. And maybe skip the last few questions.
I could go for another. Right now.
There’s this wonderful thing that happens when you do what you love for a living. For me, that means, an alarming amount of butter, a sack few sacks (try like, 10, in reality) of flour, and an abundance of chocolate. at. all. times. Then there’s things like trips to grocery store (at least once a day), lots of computer time, and an obscene amount of dishes (which one very quickly realizes, in this profession, the dishwasher is NOT your friend). I left it in the dust a lonnnnng time ago. But I wouldn’t trade it in for anything. Not one bit. And this reminds me, I am hiring a dish-washer. I pay in treats, insert pumpkin spice latte here. Any takers? I won’t hold my breath.
In the meantime, I have the perrrrrfect recipe for you to get all warm and toasty this fall. Have you ever had a pumpkin spice latte from a coffee shop before? Mainly, that very famous one that’s located on just about every street corner. Did you know that ‘pumpkin’ isn’t even an ingredient in their pumpkin spice latte? I didn’t, until very recently. Today’s shockingly simple latte recipe was inspired by the very popular Starbucks beverage. The tastes of espresso, warm, frothy milk, and pumpkin + pumpkin spice all in one.
This pumpkin spice latte pairs so perfectly well with a couch + feet up + a handful of sweet potato chips (which almost always turns into 2 handfuls). It’s the perfect way to unwind after a long day. It’s also the perfect little latte for a lazy afternoon read. It’ll definitely be on repeat at our place this fall.
This latte is so perfectly balanced with all of it’s glorious flavors. If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile (or have even glanced at my instagram account), then you know about my slight obsession with coffee. And this satisfies that craving by 1000%.
The ingredients for this pumpkin spice latte are pretty straight forward. We’ll need a couple tablespoons of pumpkin puree, a little milk, some sugar or the sweetener of your choice, vanilla, and for the spices we’ll be using pumpkin spice and cinnamon. I used espresso to make my pumpkin latte but feel free to use strong brewed coffee in it’s place.
I’ve also used a combination of 2% milk along with just a bit of half and half. If you don’t want to use half and half just use whole milk for the quantity of the milk as well as the half and half. Either way, it comes out delicious. I have not tried this recipe with 1% or skim milk and I’m unsure on how the flavor would come out. The fat in the milk helps kind of mellow the spices a bit. So if you can, use the 2% or whole milk.
For the record, I’ll be drinking these all year long, thankyouverymuch.
Now go, make yourself a cup. It’s honestly like having a hug in mug.
Also, check below the recipe for a step-by-step on how to make this pumpkin spice latte.
Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte
This is the BEST homemade pumpkin spice latte you'll ever have. It's way better than any coffee shop version and only takes a few minutes to whip up at home! And unlike Starbucks, this pumpkin spice latte actually contains pumpkin!
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 tablespoons canned pumpkin
- 3/4 teaspoon pumpkin spice
- 1/4 cinnamon powder
- 1 small pinch black pepper
- 4-5 tablespoons sugar, honey, agave or any other sweetener of choice
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups whole milk (or 2%)
- 1/4 cup half and half*
- 6 tablespoons prepared espresso (or a strongly brewed coffee)
- whipped cream (for topping)
- Nutmeg (for topping)
Instructions
- Place the canned pumpkin, pumpkin spice, cinnamon powder, and black pepper in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. It get really hot and start smelling really good.
- Add the sugar and continue to stir the mixture until it starts to darken slightly in color and thicken.
- Start whisking the pumpkin mix as you slowly add in the milk and the vanilla extract. Let it warm over medium heat, and keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't boil over.
- Once it starts boiling, turn the stove off, use an immersion stick blender, a traditional blender, or a handheld mixer to beat until it's completely blended and frothy. If you're using a traditional blender, be sure to use a hand towel to hold the lid down tight.
- Place 3 tablespoons of espresso in each mug, add the frothy pumpkin milk on top, and top with whipped cream. Sprinkle with a pinch of nutmeg. Serve immediately.
Notes
- NOTE: You may see some of the pumpkin puree starting to settle after a while if you don't drink the latte right away. Give it a good stir and it should be fine. Alternately, you can run the pumpkin milk through a strainer when pouring into mugs, but I find this takes most of the spice out too.
- If you're using whole milk for this recipe, feel free to substitute the half and half with more whole milk.
- This recipe is my own, the preparation method was however adapted from The Kitchn.
Place the canned pumpkin, pumpkin spice, cinnamon powder, and black pepper in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. It get really hot and start smelling really good.
Add the sugar and continue to stir the mixture until it starts to darken slightly in color and thicken.
Start whisking the pumpkin mix as you slowly add in the milk and the vanilla extract. Let it warm over medium heat, and keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t boil over.
Once it starts boiling, turn the stove off, use an immersion stick blender, a traditional blender, or a handheld mixer to beat until it’s completely blended and frothy. If you’re using a traditional blender, be sure to use a hand towel to hold the lid down tight.
Place 3 tablespoons of espresso in each mug, add the frothy pumpkin milk on top, and top with whipped cream. Sprinkle with a pinch of nutmeg. Serve immediately.
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5 Comments on “Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte”
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I’ll hold onto this until next October. Then homemade PSL all day baby!
So, if you are only going to drink 1 cup at a time, could you, before you add the sugar, put the puree/spice mixture in say an ice cup tray and freeze to make individual cups? Thaw and then heat again and start adding the sugar, etc? Thanks.
Hi Carol,
You can put it in an ice cube tray to freeze if you’d like, but i’m going to suggest a ziplock bag with all the air squeezed out. That should help from getting frost bite on the spiced pumpkin puree.
Totally wish I had one of these lattes in front of me now to devour.. they look SO delicious. Perfect for the fall especially!