Shhh… don’t tell starbucks.Starting Nov. 1, DanO and I declared zero prepared food purchases (restaurant, fast food, coffee shop, etc.) which means it has been a long couple of weeks without a frothy seasonal latte {can I get an amen?}. Peppermint, chai spice, egg nog, gingerbread, you name it, I love it. But I’ve quit them cold turkey this month for budget reasons.Before the withdrawal set in and I started to go cross-eyed, I looked up copycat starbucks recipes on el interwebo. The one that called my name was pumpkin spice latte, so I read a few people’s recipes, got some general ideas and then went for it.Well, I mean, I actually got out all of the ingredients I wanted to use, placed them in an aesthetically pleasing grouping near a source of natural light, took a picture of them, then went for it.{Obviously.}Here’s what I used:STRONG french press coffee (most recipes I saw call for espresso, but I don’t have espresso beans so I upped the bean to water ratio)1.5 cups milk1/4 cup canned pumpkin1 Tbl Vanilla extract1-2 Tbl Sugarpinches (to taste) of: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg – I did about 1/4 tsp of each, a little more cinnamon(I used these spices because they are what my favorite pumpkin pie recipe calls for. Another good spice would be cloves, and I also saw recipes online that had “pumpkin pie spice” in them, which would work great, too.)First you heat the pumpkin, milk, sugar and vanilla together in a sauce pan over low heat until the sugar and pumpkin are dissolved.Once the first 4 ingredients are blended, add the spices. They do cool things on the top of the milk – let your toddler watch from a safe distance.Then blend until the milk starts to steam and a little foam forms around the outside of the pan (you can’t see it in the next picture, but the foam was there, swearsies).Put the milk mixture into a mug and pour the coffee/espresso over it. Add coffee to taste.I might have spilled a little bit at first, but I’ll never tell. I may have underestimated how hard it is to pour coffee into a mug with one eye closed and the other one looking through a camera. Also, I’d always been told that if you close one eye you have no depth perception, but now I totally believe it.This whole recipe was a bit of an experiment, but I happily stumbled on something that I loved the first time. I’d encourage you to tweak ingredients, tasting as you go.This recipe makes about 20oz – a Starbucks venti – because mama likes her lattes venti.This took a little more time than my usual coffee or chai routine, so it wouldn’t be an everyday thing for me (unless! ::lightbulb moment:: unless I could make a double or triple batch of the milk mixture and store it in the fridge for a few days? I think I’ll try this next week.)Pumpkin Spice Latte Copycat Recipe1.5 cups milk1/4 cup canned pumpkin1 Tbl Vanilla extract1-2 Tbl SugarApprox 1/4 tsp cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg – to tasteStrong coffee or espresso to taste (1-2 shots)In a small sauce pan over low heat, blend milk, pumpkin, sugar, and vanilla extract together until homogenous. Add spices to taste, likely more cinnamon than the others. Mix well, raise heat to medium and stir frequently until the milk mixture begins to steam and a foam begins to form around the outside of the surface. Pour into large mug. Pour coffee or espresso over. Enjoy!
