My own pumpkin latte

I know that I am revealing myself as “basic” when I say I love pumpkin lattes because they hail the start of fall. Fall for us basic bitches means we get to wear stuff that covers us up and makes us cute; it means we can turn on the heater in the house; it means we can make huge vats of chili and drink wine while watching Netflix without feeling a twinge of guilt over some kind of bikini-body cultural obsession. It’s also the start of baking season, as well as “DIY” season, where you start staying indoors to work on your own creations, whether they be made of food or paint or yarn or words.

But I’m not basic enough to love the “pumpkin spice” variety of the autumn treat. No, no: I want actual pumpkin in my latte.

There are several local coffee shops here in Albuquerque and surrounding environs that pride themselves on the fact that their pumpkin lattes contain actual pumpkin, rather than just a squirt of some “pumpkin spice” sugar syrup. (FYI — tacking the word “spice” on the end there means the recipe can preclude any pumpkin whatsoever and just use the spices that go into a pumpkin pie without having to apologize for it.) When I get a hankering to buy my coffee, I go to these locales.

However, because I spent a good deal of my youth working as a barista, I prefer to make my own lattes. Yes, I have an espresso machine. Yes, I know how to steam milk to cappuccino-foam perfection. Yes, I have a preference of where my beans come from and what roast they come in, and I have local roasters that I prefer over others. #coffeesnob for life.

And so I have my own pumpkin latte mix recipe.

Lattes take slightly more time to make in the morning than regular coffee, so throughout the autumn, I will often just throw a couple tablespoons of this mix in my morning brew instead of sugar or half-n-half and stir vigorously before I run out the door. This mix adds the fiber and vitamins of the pumpkin, plus the vitamins from molasses, and some fat from the condensed milk to make it almost, ALMOST part of a healthy breakfast. (At least this is what I tell myself.) It’s still sweet, and I would never call this a health food, but if you don’t use too much of it, you won’t be adding nearly as much sugar or calories as you’d get from a commercial-grade “pumpkin spice” abomination, either. And you get to feel good about making something on your own at home, which is one of the feelings I have always associated with autumn.

Kat’s Pumpkin Coffee Mix
1 15oz can pureed pumpkin 
1 5oz can condensed milk
2 Tbsp dark molasses
1 tsp ground cinnamon*
1/2 tsp ground ginger*
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg*
1/2 tsp ground cloves*
1/2 tsp cardamom or allspice (your choice)*
*you can use 1 Tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice as a substitute for these if you have some. Adjust these to taste as well. Sometimes when I’m feeling fancy I add a dash of red chile, too.

Add all ingredients together in a blender and blend until smooth.

To make a latte: Add 1–3 tbsp of mix to 1 cup of cold milk and steam to 140 degrees F. Add two shots espresso. Top with a dash of cinnamon.

To add to coffee: Add 1–3 tbsp of mix to cup of coffee and stir.

Can be refrigerated in covered container for 1–2 weeks.

Enjoy!