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Thursday, September 18, 2008

Make Your Own Pumpkin Spiced Latte

Fall is my favorite time of year - I love the cool nights, crisp mornings, the turning of the leaves, pumpkin picking, cider sipping...I could go on, but I will try and spare you any additional rambling.

I have been so excited to see the first leaves start to change color and the first few cool mornings, reaching for Sweetpea's jacket and jeans. (don't you just love a baby in jeans?) The other hint of fall that I noticed last week was slightly less "natural", but no less exciting - pumpkin spice creamer! Didn't see that coming? I normally drink my coffee "straight up". It has to be either totally plain or heavy on the sugar and creamer, I can't take any in between for some reason. My daycare provider introduced me to her seasonal favorite creamer last year, and I hate to admit I've been a pumpkin spice addict ever since. Luckily the stuff is only available through end of the year!

I guess that's why I was so excited to see TWO pumpkin spiced latte recipes on Amy's notebook in the past few weeks. I decided to go for the "more decadent" of the two versions that you can find here. I brewed my coffee as I normally would (apparently I drink it "strong") and while the coffee maker was doing it's thing, I started on the pumpkin concoction. I skipped the blender step, using my pampered chef whisk instead. I assembled the ingredients and heated it over medium/low heat, whisking regularly to dissolve the sugar into the milk.

(look at that, I liked it so much I wrote down the recipe! And no, that part of the burner isn't on, so it isn't going to catch fire)


After the pumpkin creaminess appeared to be sufficiently warm and frothy, I poured about half of it into my mug followed by coffee and a heavy shot of creamer -pumpkin spice flavor for good measure! I skipped the additional sugar since I was using extra sweet creamer.




(Isn't this a cute mug? I think anything would look good in this mug, it's my favorite! It was my Dad's, so it holds a special place in my heart.)

Back to the Latte - it was fantastic! Doesn't it look fantastic? It was a great treat and mid-week morning pick me up. It was delicious hot, but next time I'll make this as an iced version...if there is one thing I like better than fancied up hot coffee, it's fancy iced coffee!


For more fun experiments like this one, head over and check out Momadvice!

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10 comments:

Megan Cobb said...

Yum! That looks and sounds delicious and perfect for these cool fall mornings. I'm in, if I can find the time! :)

Amy said...

Yum! I just love me some pumpkin spice lattes. I know that fall is here when I see them on the Starbucks menu. I only crave those and the peppermint mochas, so a girl has to figure out how to make them at home.

GREAT job!

Marva said...

Yummy! Great job! Hope all is well! Blessings!!!!

mama k said...

mmm... sounds great! I think I need to pick up some pumpkin next time I'm at the store to test this out.

Mommy2Twinkies-Deb said...

Yum, sounds great. You know I've never had the Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks... for $3.50, it's such a commitment, I always go with what I know I like! :-)

Elle Charlie said...

I'm not a coffee drinker but that looks and sounds so good I may try it - maybe I'll make it for Hubs - he likes pumpkin a lot.

I love fall too. I love it more when I have a job and can break out my fall work wear, but alas. I love the crispness in the air, and the great colors of everything (oranges, browns, reds, greens). It's by far my favorite season. Although this week it's been nearing 80 degrees!

Steph at Problem Solvin' Mom said...

Hi Megan! I hope you have some time for this, it would be a great treat! (hopefully accompanied by a moment or two of quiet?!)

Amy, Pumpkin spice and peppermint mocha are my favorite flavors too! I just can't see paying the Starbucks price, no matter how delicious they are - that's why I'm thankful there are people like you scoping out great recipes like this one!

Deb - the Starbucks version is a definite commitment, and I've had ones that weren't so great from there before, so I definitely recommend the homemade version!

Elle, I hope hubs likes this, and you might try a sip too! It's nearing 80 here too, though our nights are in the 50's - wonderful weather!!

Jen said...

Oooo....I love pumpkin spice lattes! I actually just wrote a post about them (still in draft form...) Thanks!

Ruth said...

Absolutely delicious! I have type II diabetes, but was able to make a few small modifications to this (skim milk, Splenda brown sugar blend, and regluar Splenda instead of sugar), and it was still just too decadent for words!

HDMac said...

OH YUM!! Well, I will have to do with my store bought pumpkin creamer this morning but that does look fantastic! Will have to try it! Going to make my pumpkin bread today... :)