by the author of What to Eat When You’re Broke and The Tower
Even if the weather hasn’t cooled off where you live, the coffee shops have declared that autumn has arrived by rolling out their Pumpkin Spice everything.
But…there are a couple of kickers.
First of all, who can afford a daily diet of $5 coffees? If you count Sept. 1 through Nov. 30 as “fall” and you consume a pumpkin spice latte every day, that’s 91 days. At $5 a pop, if you only have one per day, that is a whopping $455 in pumpkin spice beverages.
Here’s what you’re sipping.
If you read about the ingredients in the be-all, end-all pumpkin spice latte, the one from Starbucks, you’ll find a lot of unnecessary stuff. Here is the ingredients list, right from horse’s mouth.
MILK, PUMPKIN SPICE SAUCE [SUGAR, CONDENSED SKIM MILK, PUMPKIN PUREE, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLE JUICE FOR COLOR, NATURAL FLAVORS, ANNATTO, SALT, POTASSIUM SORBATE], BREWED ESPRESSO, WHIPPED CREAM [CREAM (CREAM, MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, CARAGEENAN), VANILLA SYRUP (SUGAR, WATER, NATURAL FLAVORS, POTASSIUM SORBATE, CITRIC ACID)], PUMPKIN SPICE TOPPING [CINNAMON, GINGER, NUTMEG, CLOVES]
Is it the worst drink you can buy? Well, no. There are far worse out there. But it does have a lot of things you don’t necessarily need to get your seasonal sparkle.
You can do better. Much, much better. Plus, you can control the ingredients to account for personal preferences, allergies, and intolerances.
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Make your own Pumpkin Spice Creamer
With a DIY Pumpkin Spice Creamer, you can have your own fancy coffee beverage at a fraction of the price, any time you want. And it’s WAY better for you, too. Here’s what you need.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of your favorite kind of unsweetened milk (cow’s milk, half-and-half, goat’s milk, almond milk, cashew milk, coconut milk, or reconstituted dry milk if you are making this from stockpile ingredients…whatever you prefer)
- 1/4 cup of brown sugar (you can also use honey, sweetener, or this low-carb, organic sweetener we discovered that we really like, Agave 5)
- 3 tbsp of pumpkin puree (There are alternatives. You can use pumpkin powder, or if you like to dehydrate, you can make your own pumpkin powder to use. The conversion is 1/4 tbsp of powder to 1 tbsp of puree.)
- 2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp of cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
- In a small saucepan, use a low heat to bring your milk and sugar (or other sweetener) to a simmer.
- Stir in all of the other ingredients, whisking constantly.
- Simmer for a couple of minutes until the ingredients are incorporated. Your spices will not dissolve, so unlike the coffee shop variety, your real, delicious, actual spices will speckle your creamer with goodness.
- Allow the mixture to cool, then pour it into a Mason jar.
- Store it in the refrigerator and use liberally in your coffee.
Note: the mixture WILL separate. You’ll have to shake it well before using it.
If you want to be fancy, put some whipped cream on top and sprinkle a teeny bit of pumpkin spice on top of that.
That’s it. Simple. Frugal. Delicious.
(And way better for you than the stuff those other guys want to charge you $5 for!)
Let me know what you think. Are you Team PSL or Team Chai for your autumnal bevvie? Have you ever made your own version of a creamer like this?
Let’s talk details in the comments section.
One Response
Team Chai here.
Not all chai is created equal. I have had some that are just not drinkable. And chai is meant to be sweet and creamy, and not weak! I like the T… chai brand and you can buy it in your local grocery store. I opt for the tea bags rather than the liquid. To make it, I use a fairly large mug with two tea bags, use only milk, and fill it about 3/4 of the way. I nuke it until it just starts to boil, then let it steep for several minutes before squeezing all the goodness out of the bags. I then sweeten with my artificial sweetener and top it off with half & half or cream if I have it. Definitely cheaper and tastier than from the local coffee joint. Yummm!