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Mitch here!
It’s pumpkin spice season up in here. And by “in here” I mean “in my house” due to the global pandemic. But today we’ll be turning your not-te to latte because you can make a PSL right at home with a few simple ingredients.
Well, really one simple ingredient.
The simple ingredient is pumpkin spice.
You really just put pumpkin spice in your coffee.
Onward!
Before you go off and call me a Basic Mitch, let me just say something from the outset. I like pumpkin spice stuff. It evokes a familiar warmth that awakens a powerful nostalgia in me. It’s seasonal, celebratory and communal, and I don’t really understand why so many people feel the need to make fun of something that’s so lovely. There’s a “pompkin” spice recipe in the first printed American cookbook from 1796, and if 225 years of pumpkin spice-loving American history isn’t good enough for you, I’m not sure what is.
Now of course pumpkin spice doesn’t taste like actual pumpkins. Real pumpkins are absolutely disgusting. Pumpkin spice is simply and traditionally used—along with about a gallon of sugar—to make pumpkin actually palatable. But in recent years, we the people had a genius idea that changed the course of autumnal cuisine for good. If pumpkins are so gross, why eat them at all? Why not put pumpkin spice on other stuff instead?! Yes, the pumpkin spice trend has had its missteps, but on the whole I fully support the movement. I’m Mitch Larkin and I approved this message.
Side note: I grew up in the world’s foremost pumpkin-producing region. Each year, Illinois produces over half a billion pounds of pumpkins. We have so many pumpkins that some of the more bored and technically inclined of us take to competitively chuckin’ pumpkins with customized cannons and catapults. I know some of the people in that video. (For real.) But I digress.
Pumpkin spice includes cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and allspice… but none of that matters because you should just buy your pumpkin spice from the store. It’s like $2 and a small jar of it will last you a decade.
The easy homemade pumpkin spice latte recipe I use involves a few simple ingredients: Espresso, pumpkin spice, steamed milk, sugar and vanilla extract. If you need help with the espresso, check out this blog post and if you want to justify buying an Oracle Touch, just think of all the money you’ve saved this year drinking coffee at home! Sure, you can use plain old coffee instead of espresso. Just don’t call it a pumpkin spice latte because it’s not.
I should add a disclaimer that access to quality pumpkin spice lattes at home can be dangerous. I drank so many of them today that I’m writing this blog post at two in the morning and I can still taste that spice and I think I’m screwed for sleeping tonight. Luckily, I plan to drink four pumpkin spice lattes tomorrow morning so I should be all good!
Ingredients:
- Two shots of espresso
- One cup of whole milk
- Two tablespoons of sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
The Recipe:
- Pull a double shot of espresso
- Stir 1/4 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice and sugar into espresso
- Steam one cup of milk and pour into espresso
- Sprinkle remaining pumpkin pie spice on top of the resulting latte and enjoy!
Basic Mitch. OUT!
