Every year around this time the world seems to go crazy for Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Lattes The Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Lattes are lovely… But you can make them at home
And I’d like to think my make-at-home version wins
Why? Because you can make them vegan at home, if you so choose.
And the ones you purchase are generally made with fake, sugary, pumpkin-flavored syrups, not real pumpkin puree. It should be noted that this is a natural latte, made with real pumpkin puree and real pumpkin pie spice. It does not all fully dissolve and there will be some settling at the bottom of the mug. If you don’t want settling, the way to avoid that is to use synthetic syrups made from chemicals rather than real pumpkin and real spices. Your choice. Since some people enjoy a daily dose of HFCS, you make lattes at home and can control what goes into your latte.
Another reason the at-home version wins is because you could go into the poorhouse if you like your coffee as much as I like mine buying these specialty drinks.
I bet the cost per cup of the homemade latte is less than a quarter and probably even less. Far less than the $4 coffee shop lattes and the cheapskate in me wants to make things at home whenever possible.
And I actually prefer the taste of my version to the Starbucks version but I could be biased. For the recipe, there are many ways to make these and many recipes I’ve seen on the internet, but here’s what I do because I like these ratios the best. And oh yes, it’s easy.
A Visual Guide Brew your coffee I was lucky enough to receive this Godiva Pumpkin Coffee from Godiva in conjunction with being a FoodBuzz Featured Publisher
The coffee is delicious and being that it’s pumpkin-flavored it just enhances the recipe but it’s not required to use pumpkin coffee
Any ole coffee will do if you don’t have any of these just laying around your cupboards
After you’ve made your coffee, make the pumpkin milk
Everything in
Blend
This stuff is so good! You don’t even need to pour it into coffee. You can just drink this as is. Mmmm, good. Just ask Skylar.
And when you’re chugging this straight taste-testing this before you pour it into the brewed coffee just remember the old saying: “Pumpkin Milk: It does a body good!” I recommend heating the pumpkin milk mixture up in the micro (or stovetop) before you add it to the brewed coffee (or Vita users, just let ‘er rip and let the machine do the work for you) But I truly despise lukewarm coffee drinks so I always heat it up as to not cool off my coffee too much
Pour the coffee into your mug, top with half the pumpkin milk mixture Garnish and Drink Up
And be glad you don’t have to rely on buying pumpkin spice lattes anymore!
As I said in the recipe section, you know you will want a refill
Every bit as good as Starbucks Star Who? And easy and cheap!
And for the rest of the can of pumpkin puree you have on your hands, I have a great recipe coming up for how to use it… Tip: I actually mix up about 2 cups+ worth of pumpkin milk at a time and store that in the fridge and heat it up as needed and then add that to coffee as I see fit over the next couple days I figure as long as I am dirtying dishes and have everything out, I always make a little extra for refills or future use Or, you can also freeze the extra pumpkin puree in a small container and make something else that tickles your pumpkin fancy because you never know when a pumpkin craving is going to hit.
Tried this recipe? Leave a review! Consider leaving a 5 star rating if you’ve made and loved one of my recipes! Here’s a Roundup of my Favorite Pumpkin Recipes
Do you like Pumpkin Spice Lattes? Are you one of those people who has been over-paying for your seasonal pumpkin spice lattes (or come Christmastime the gingerbread lattes)? Maybe you’ll make these at home because as I said here, if I relied on Starbucks for my coffee or specialty drink fix, I’d be broke! Plus I truly prefer the taste of the make-at-home.
