Recipe by Gimme Some Oven
September 10th. It was a very special day for me. No- it wasn’t the day that I met my prince charming. It also wasn’t the day that I received my first A at BU. Nope, not even close.
September 10th was the day I had my first pumpkin spice latte of the season. Starbucks began advertising for the treasured beverage in August, and they began serving it in coffee shops worldwide on September 2nd. I told myself that that was too soon. So I waited 8 days, and finally gave in to PSL peer pressure.
As much as I love getting pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks, I can’t exactly afford spending all of my dining points on daily coffees.
One day, I stumbled across the best online post I had ever seen. Gimme Some Oven, one of my favorite foodie blogs, posted the recipe on their blog. I started freaking out- I could make this on my own!
The recipe requires ingredients that can be picked up at Shaw’s, Trader Joe’s, or Whole Foods.
PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE
PREP TIME: 5 MINUTESTOTAL TIME: 5 MINUTES
YIELD: 1 SERVING
Learn how to make homemade pumpkin spice lattes (and homemade pumpkin spice syrup/concentrate) with this simple recipe.
INGREDIENTS
PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE INGREDIENTS:
• 1 shot (1.5 ounces or 3 tablespoons) espresso or strongly-brewed hot coffee
• 1 shot (1.5 ounces or 3 tablespoons) pumpkin spice syrup (see below)
• 6 ounces (3/4 cup) steamed milk, any kind
• optional toppings: whipped cream (or vegan coconut whipped cream), caramel sauce, ground cinnamon
• PUMPKIN SPICE SYRUP:
• 1 cup water
• 2/3 cup brown sugar*
• 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
METHOD
TO MAKE THE PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE:
Add all ingredients together in a mug and stir to combine. Top with optional toppings if desired.
TO MAKE THE PUMPKIN SPICE SYRUP:
Whisk together water, brown sugar, pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice together in a small saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 3 minutes until slightly thickened. Stir in vanilla extract, and remove from heat.
Use immediately, or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 1 week.
*You can either use all brown sugar, or half brown half granulated sugar, or more/less sugar, OR sub in a different kind of sugar all together. Everyone has different sugar needs/preferences, so do what works best for you. This recipe is the closest I came (still using less sugar) to the syrup that most people order at coffee shops.
**Recipe updated September 2014.
(c) 2013 Gimme Some Oven. All rights reserved.
Unfortunately, you must have access to a kitchen to create the DIY pumpkin spice latte. Many dorms have kitchens located in their basements, though, so it’s not a lost cause! Get your girls together and have a PSL making party today!