What could be better than French Press Coffee?
Homemade Pumpkin Spice Lattes!
When I made these for our hiking road trip on Sunday, I was really pleased with the outcome. To my surprise, they were really fast to throw together and tasted incredible. I was able able to cut down the sugar and it still tasted amazing.
Pumpkin Spice Lattes
Adapted from The Kitchn.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups almond milk
- 2 tbsp canned pumpkin or butternut squash (I prefer pumpkin)
- 1-2 tbsp sugar, to taste (It calls for two, but I found 1 was enough the second time)
- 1.25 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 cup freshly brewed espresso OR 2/3 cup strong coffee
Directions: In a saucepan combine milk, pumpkin and sugar and cook on medium heat, stirring,
until steaming. Now bring to a boil and stir in vanilla and spice. You can now transfer to a blender and process for 15 seconds until foamy. If you don’t have a blender, don’t worry- just whisk the mixture really well with a wire whisk. Some of the mixture fell to the bottom of the cup, so blending it might help prevent this. Pour in espresso or coffee. Add on cinnamon or whip cream on top if
desired. Serves 2.
This morning, I used canned butternut squash just to see how it would taste. I also gathered almond milk, vanilla, freshly brewed strong French press coffee (since I don’t have an espresso machine), and spices.
I used 3 tbsp of coffee beans and let it steep for about 8-10 minutes.
First you whisk together the 2 cups of almond milk with 2 tbsp of pumpkin.
While it is heating, make your coffee or espresso.
Add spices and vanilla and bring to a boil.
The original recipe says to add in the spices and vanilla after removing from heat, but I prefer to add it in while it is heating so the boil can burn off the alcohol in the vanilla extract.
As an optional step you can blend the mixture in your blender for 10 seconds or so to make it frothy. I skipped this step, but I would recommend it as some of the mixture settled on the bottom of the cup. I think a blender might help with this.
As a final step, add in your espresso or coffee and stir.
I added on some freshly grated cinnamon.
You can also add whipped cream if you wish.
It was very warm, comforting, and the perfect treat on a cool Fall day. Today, I tried butternut squash, but I think I preferred the pumpkin. It was a close call. Now granted, this isn’t an authentic latté by any means, but I still loved it. Maybe it should be called a pumpkin spice French press. ;) It was good, whatever you call it!
Are you a specialty coffee fan? What is your favourite drink to order? Do you ever make any at home?
I’m a misto lover (half coffee, half steamed milk), mainly because it’s cheap and tastes like a latte… then I add honey and cinnamon.. perfect!
I’m more of a black coffee person except for the fall and holiday season. Something about pumpkin and peppermint lattes always call to me. I never thought to make my own until reading blogs. You’ll have to be sure to do a peppermint one in another month or so. ;)
mmm peppermint would be awesome
I am definitely trying these – in my never ending effort to try and love coffee.
I had no idea you could buy canned butternut squash. Where did you find this?
I got it from my wholesaler
I’ve found it at Whole Foods!
Yay!!! I was hoping you’d post this recipe soon! Yum!
My recipes were actually posted in Sunday’s post in a PDF :) (except for the cakes, which are coming soon)
http://ohsheglows.com/docs/roadtrip.pdf
I have been dreaming of those cakes!
Mmm…who needs Starbucks?! ;-)
Double shot soya latte with a twist of nutmeg :)
But no caffeine after midday. Ever.
There are two specialty drinks that are favourites of mine. Both easy to make at home. One is a tea misto. My favourite is earl grey. Steep tea, add some steamed almond milk and a little bit of vanilla, stir. Delicious. The second is a machiatto. Traditional machiatos are just a strong pour of espresso with a dollop of foamy steamed milk plopped on the top. Delicious taste of a lattee without all the milk, or “milk”. So good.
I love specialty coffee drinks, but I rarely buy them because they’re so expensive! But recipes like this mean I can make some at home!!! :) I’m definitely going to try this.
Chai spice + pumpkin is always a nice pairing. I’m going to try your delicious Pumpkin Latte with the Chai spices!
I tried a recipe similar to this one, and it works wonderfully. Thanks for sharing. Do you press the plunger down when you make coffee or is it just like this in the picture? It always helps me control the bits of coffee that try to escape when pouring. Have a lovely Tuesday
ha after I took the pic I realized it wasn’t pressed down, so yes I did afterwards :)
This looks delicious — I don’t drink “fancy” coffee drinks too often, but once in a while they are a great treat.
My favorite is the white chocolate mocha — I haven’t been able to master it at home (haven’t tried too many times to be honest).
Wow! See you never let us down! I will be making this and my husband will be super pumped as well!
Yes I make speciality coffee drinks at home and my favorite are white chocolate and milk chocolate mochas and at Starbucks Fall Lattes-Pumkin Spice (no kidding! right just like the rest of the world)
yum! i have been watching to try Mama Pea’s version…this one looks great too though!
Yum!!! My favorite drink to order is a Cinnamon Dolce Latte ;)
I usually make Hazelnut lattes at home because I have hazelnut syrup…next time I’m doing cinnamon!
I tried Momma Pea’s version as well a few weeks ago and I have to say- this has been a weekly staple ever since! For some reason flavored coffees aren’t my favorite which is why I like creating my own flavor. :) So delish!
My favorite drink to order is a cafe au lait with whole milk. No skim. I like the creamy real deal!
Yummm! I’m not a huge coffee connoisseur, but I do like flavoured coffees – especially when they involve lots of vanilla and cinnamon. Oh and pumpkin – obviously!
Obviously I could be (very!) wrong about this, but I always thought that heat killed vanilla flavors, too. I wait to add vanilla until after I’ve cooked things like oatmeal over heat.
I think it does a bit, but I can’t stand the alcohol taste. I have been wanting to get some alcohol free vanilla. Anyone tried it before?
You could use vanilla beans, but that could get expensive ;)
I got pure vanilla in Mexico and it was AMAZING. And you don’t have to use nearly as much of it because the flavor is so intense so a little bottle goes a long way!
I’ve tried alcohol-free vanilla from the brand Simply Organic, and it was great! Truthfully, I couldn’t taste a difference between that & the regular Nielsen-Massey that I buy, but I liked that it didn’t have alcohol in it, or any sugar.
I have been making pumpkin spice lattes lately, too! So yum.
Oh, thank you! I’ve been trying to perfect my recipe but every time, it’s just not right so I’ll have to try yours!
Happy National Pumpkin Day!!!
I’m a lover of soy misto’s. This time of year, I add a pump of pumpkin spice. I love this recipe! I’m going to try it this weekend!