This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Nottingham chapter.

WARNING: these recipes do actually contain pumpkin.

In case you haven’t already noticed, we’re deep into Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte season. Although I’m a big fan of their PSLs, I still can’t get my head around why exactly there’s no trace of pumpkin in their delicious creation. Am I missing something here? Are pumpkins just not that tasty? Whether you want to experiment with some autumnal recipes which actually include pumpkin or satisfy your pumpkin spice cravings, these recipes are simple enough to try at home.

Some of the recipes require the ingredients ‘pumpkin puree’ and ‘pumpkin pie spice’ which not all shops sell ready-made. The BBC’s Good Food has a simple method for the puree and it’s also a great way to make use of the pumpkins you’ll be carving for Halloween! Here’s a link to the puree recipe.

The spice mix is simply: 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg, 1 ½ teaspoons ground allspice and 1 ½ teaspoons ground cloves, all mixed together in a bowl.

10 Minute Pumpkin Spice Latte

So this latte does contain the vegetable in question. It’s also probably one of the easier methods I’ve seen for a homemade latte. Now you can enjoy your very own PSL without having to leave the comfort of your onesie and Netflix.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Who doesn’t want to feel like they’re baking cupcakes on 2 Broke Girls? These cute creations will also earn you a lot of friendship points with your PSL obsessed housemates when they have a sugar craving.

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Once again Allrecipes provides us with another great pumpkin spice recipe. The vanilla icing piped as spider webs would look great on the food table at a Halloween party, that’s if your hand is steady enough!

Healthier Alternatives

The health and fitness internet media start-up Greatist has some delicious sounding recipes which are healthier alternatives to cupcakes and cookies. Their granola looks amazing and can be made in just 10 minutes and the spiced pumpkin energy bars would make great snacks for essay writing and revision when you need a boost!

Edited by Georgina Varley

Sources:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/pumpkin-spice-latte.html

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/872635/pumpkin-puree

http://greatist.com/eat/pumpkin-spice-recipes

http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/7919/spiced-pumpkin-cookies.aspx

http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/8521/pumpkin-cupcakes.aspx

http://www.bettycrocker.com/

http://www.starbucks.co.uk/

Image sources:

http://www.starbucks.co.uk/menu/beverage-list/espresso-beverages/pumpkin-spice-latte

http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/8521/pumpkin-cupcakes.aspx