It’s pumpkin spice season! The time for cinnamon and squash has arrived. While bakeries and coffee shops are rushing to fill their shelves and cupboards with much-coveted pumpkin spice mix-ins, I’m going to show you some recipes that will blow those store-bought options out of the water. 

Since Starbucks prices have skyrocketed in the past few years, I’ve come up with a pumpkin spice latte that you can make from scratch, or from store-bought pumpkin puree. It has the perfect blend of ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and turmeric for a signature fall treat.

Both of these recipes use the same pumpkin spice mixture, which can be stored for up to a week if placed in a sealed container in the refrigerator, allowing you to enjoy your coffees, teas, and baked goods with a warm note of autumn without having to pull out 20 ingredients three times a day.

Pumpkin Spice Mix

Ingredients:

• 1 medium sized pumpkin (Cinderella, Fairy Tale, Kabocha, and Acorn are all good) weighing about 5-6 pounds
• 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground or fresh ginger (grated)
• ½ teaspoon ground turmeric – for color
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg

If preparing from pumpkin puree, start at step 7. If preparing from scratch:

1. Wash your pumpkin, making sure to get all the dirt and debris off with either a towel or brush.
2. Place your pumpkin on a cutting board, making sure your knife is sharp and large (dull knives make it easy to slip and chop off a finger or two, and a small knife won’t be able to get through the pumpkin’s exterior).
3. Place your pumpkin on its side and cut off the stem area, then cut it down the middle and into quarters so that it will be easy to cut into chunks later. 
4. From here, you can use a vegetable peeler to get the skin off of the pumpkin, making sure to get any indents on the surface. You could also use a paring knife, but that method is not as safe and will cut off a layer of the pumpkin flesh, leaving you with less pumpkin to work with.
5. Cut your peeled pumpkin into half-inch rectangles, or about the size of your pinkie nail.
6. Place a small pot on medium-high heat, and fill it with one cup of water. Once it is boiling, put your pumpkin pieces into the water and let them cook for about 30 minutes, occasionally stirring.
7. After the pumpkin is cooked, measure out 1 ½ tablespoons of cinnamon, ½ tablespoon of turmeric, ½ tablespoon of nutmeg, and 1 ½ tablespoons of either ginger powder or fresh minced ginger. Mix this in with the pumpkin mixture, which should be mostly lumps and should spread with a touch.
8. After mixing, place the mixture in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 ¼ cups of all purpose flour
• 1 cup pumpkin spice mix
• 1 egg
• ½ cup vegetable shortening or butter
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tbsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt – 1 tsp flaky salt to put on top
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• For sweetener, either
  • ¾ cup maple syrup
  • Or ½ cup granulated sugar and ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 ½ cups semi sweet chocolate chips  

Recipe:

1. Measure out your wet ingredients; vegetable shortening/butter, maple syrup/sugar and egg, and place in a small bowl. Quickly whisk the wet ingredients together.
   • If using butter, put in a saucepan over medium heat until it turns brown and starts separating, then let cool for about 10 minutes before mixing with the sugar and egg.
2. To the wet ingredients, add in the cup of pumpkin spice mix and vanilla, making sure to get it fully incorporated. It should be a smooth consistency.
3. In a large mixing bowl, measure out the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, and mix.
   • Using sugar will result in a thicker dough than maple syrup, so only use 2 cups of flour when using sugar.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients in increments, mixing each time so that there are no obvious lumps. Make sure not to overmix or the cookies will turn out dense.
5. Place the mixed dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
6. Either measure out the chocolate chips, or cut a chocolate bar into small 1 cm chunks. After cooling the dough, mix in the chocolate chunks and place back in the refrigerator for another 30 minutes.
7. Preheat the oven to 350º Fahrenheit.
8. Using an ice cream scoop or two spoons, form small balls and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
9. Because we added more liquids than a normal cookie, the cookies won’t be able to spread as well, so use your spoon or ice cream scoop to press down on the cookie dough until it’s as thin or thick as desired.
10. Place the cookie sheet in the oven for roughly 15 minutes. The cookies may need more or less time depending on thickness, but the edges should be slightly browned and the center should be firm to the touch.
11. Sprinkle them with your flaky sea salt, let it cool, and enjoy!

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Ingredients: 

• 1 shot of espresso/cup of brewed coffee
• 2 tablespoons of pumpkin spice mix (recipe above)
• Ice – optional
• Sweetener – to your liking

Recipe:

1. Brew a shot of espresso or drip coffee.
2. Use one spoon of pumpkin spice mix per cup of coffee.
   • If you’re making a hot latte, mix the pumpkin spice with the coffee before adding your steamed milk.
   • If you’re making a cold coffee, shake the pumpkin spice with the coffee and ice in a shaker before adding milk and ice.
3. Add sweetener to your liking, and enjoy!