Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte

Lovelies! Whoa, the first day of fall was this week. Unfortunately, in LA, it feels more like summer, with temperatures predicted to get up in the high 80’s this weekend. That sucks for me because I can’t stop dreaming about chunky sweaters, beautiful brown boots and warm, cozy drinks.

So I took it upon myself  to make a very “fall” drink, customized to the weather’s weirdness: an ICED Pumpkin Spice Latte. It’s the taste of fall poured over ice, making it this unusual mix of refreshing and cozy.

This should go without saying, but this drink can also be made hot. I’m actually really looking forward to sipping on this in a month while sitting outside in a gigantic sweater.

Bright orange leaves and Pumpkin Spice Lattes are what dreams are made of. Believe that.

And now for a few thoughts on this recipe…

A few weeks ago it got a little cold in LA (meaning high 60’s) and I got trigger happy with fall. I put on a warm sweater and marched to Starbucks to buy myself a Pumpkin Spice Latte. I was a little surprised at the cost. I mean, for a grande it came out to be $4.50!

And then naturally I wanted another one a few hours later, and since I’m terrible with self-control, I marched to Starbucks again and bought yet another one. So on some random Wednesday in September, I spent nearly $10 on Pumpkin Spice Lattes. I’m not sure who I think I am sometimes. Seriously.

Luckily a friend of mine used to work at Starbucks and loosely told me the recipe, but I wasn’t too crazy about having to use pumpkin syrup. So I ended up finding this recipe on The Kitchn and used it as a guide. I added twice as much pumpkin puree and a bit less milk. I also tweaked the directions to suit making it cold. Below are directions for both: hot and cold.

Also, if you have pumpkin pie spice on hand then it’s easiest to use that, but if you don’t, then you can just make your own by mixing ground clover, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, and all-spice.

Now, if you’ll excuse me. I’m gonna go put on a sweater, turn my air-conditioning on and pretend it feels like fall.

xox,

Adrianna

Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte

Recipe adapted from The Kitchn

Print this recipe!

2 cups milk

4 tablespoons canned pumpkin puree

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1-2 shots espresso (about 1/4 cup of espresso or 1/2 cup of strong brewed coffee if you don’t have an espresso machine.)

For Iced:

Brew your coffee or espresso and let it sit out for a few minutes until it reaches room temperature. You could also put it in the fridge or freezer to speed up the cooling process.

In a saucepan combine milk, pumpkin and sugar and cook on low heat, stirring, just until the sugar and pumpkin are desolved. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and spice, transfer to a blender and process for 15 seconds until foamy. If you don’t have a blender, don’t worry about it – just whisk the mixture really well with a wire whisk.

Pour into a cup filled with ice. Add the espresso or coffee on top.

Top with whipped cream and sprinkle pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, or cinnamon on top.

For Hot:

In a saucepan combine milk, pumpkin and sugar and cook on medium heat, stirring, until steaming. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and spice, transfer to a blender and process for 15 seconds until foamy. If you don’t have a blender, don’t worry about it – just whisk the mixture really well with a wire whisk.

Pour into a large mug or two mugs. Add the hot espresso or coffee on top.

Top with whipped cream and sprinkle pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, or cinnamon on top.