I hate to admit this but I actually like the Pumpkin Spice Lattes. Not everyone makes them well, but a lot of places do and it although I don’t “embrace all that is pumpkin” I have been known to make a pie, maybe some pumpkin squares with cream cheese frosting (just like my favorites from the Rocket Bakery in Spokane), bread, and so on.
Since my budget doesn’t allow me to buy coffee at $5 per, I make a lot of coffee at home. In addition to adding real maple syrup to my equal parts coffee concentrate and milk, a drink that I fell in love with at Cafe Cesura, I thought the same thing could happen with pumpkin spice.
So, I decided to see if I could find a recipe for pumpkin spice syrup that would taste as good or hopefully better than the sauce/syrup used at the big coffee chains. I played around with it a little in the kitchen, and came up with what I think is an excellent syrup to keep on hand for coffee, over ice cream, or by the spoonful. You can make this recipe sugar-free with ease and you won’t sacrifice ANY deliciousness in the process by substituting real maple syrup for the brown and white sugar (just make sure you cut it by half).
THIS is how you catch a hipster.
Pumpkin Spice Syrup
1 1/2 cups water
3/4 cup brown sugar (or sub maple syrup here and skip the white)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp each ground ginger and clove
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/3 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla extract
Add sugar and water and bring to a simmer until sugar dissolves, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients and keep at a gentle simmer for around 15 minutes. Let cool and strain (the pumpkin will probably thicken back up and you can use in a future bread, bar or pie!). Stir in vanilla. Store in a glass jar. Should last a few months in the fridge!
