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
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.
I really appreciate the recipe, especially since I like my drinks cold. I should tell you, as one who goes to Starbucks a lot, you should get a rewards card. You can get regular coffee or tea and over time you earn free drinks which you can use for the expensive stuff.
Total genius making this an iced drink! Love it!
LOVE THIS!! I too have made many trips to Starbucks and I love this one much better! I have been going nuts baking my pumpkin goodies since it is getting chilly here in New England! 🙂
Thank You !!
Luv this recipe!! Thank you for sharing and the inspiration. I was rather surprised how much it was for a tall at Starbucks. It’s like buying a white chocolate mocha (that I gave up yrs ago for chai tea lattes). I’ve been craving this pumpkin latte all weekend! 🙂
Wow! Just made this hot (it’s almost 0 here in Alberta) and it is fabulous! Thanks so much for the recipe. I made my own spice blend too, and it all just adds up to perfect.
This is absolutely awesome! Can’t wait to try it out because I’ve got all the ingredients already!
I cannot wait to try this out. Thank you for passing this along. (My husband will thank you, too; no more spending lots of $$$ at Starbucks!)
Oh, this is PERFECT because I don’t care for hot drinks. (Seriously, the 2 times I ever purchased a hot beverage from Starbucks, it was almost 30 minutes before I could even take a sip!)
I generally don’t drink coffee (except in small amounts blended with other things, such as this). Would some instant coffee work with this? How should I prepare it?
I would just put double the amount of instant coffee that the instructions call for and go from there. Just be sure to let it cool down by either putting it in the freezer or refrigerator for a few minutes. Let me know how it works!
I cannot tell you how excited I am to have found your blog and this PSL recipe, I’m downright giddy! (I found you via Tasty Kitchen.) I do have one question: When you list “canned pumpkin” as an ingredient, do you mean plain pumpkin puree, or the canned pumpkin pie filling? Could you use either in this recipe? Please advise. & thank you again for this recipe, you made my day! 😉
So glad you found me! I used pumpkin puree. I bet you could use pumpkin pie filling in a pinch, but i’m pretty sure that there are all sorts of things in there like eggs, evaporated milk, etc. Stuff you probably want to steer clear from in a drink. 🙂
this drink rocks! i made the milk/pumpkin part into large batches to have for a caffeine fix throughout the day. Oh and i used the extra coffee diluted with water to make coffee ice cubes! i love you so much for this recipe! thanks a bunch!!
super awesome idea! love that you made it in large batches. i’m totally doing that.
delicious!! I want one right now badly. Looks awesome!
Great idea! I ordered to PSL at Starbucks the other day but it just wasn’t the same drinking it in this heat.
Can’t wait to try this! WOULD AUTUMN PLEASE GET HERE ALREADY!
I know that I can print this entire story for the recipe but I’ve gotten spoiled with your Print This Recipe button. I’m not seeing it anywhere. Or am I just not looking in the right place?
Whatev. No worries. Thanks for the recipe ~
Whoops! It’s there now!
Oops! I meant to put it here!
Thanks again!
O-M-G! I’m so going to make this once i get all those spices though 🙁 this would totally turn around this gross, gloomy, rainy Monday! awesome recipe – thanks so much!!
if you don’t already have those spices and don’t bake much, i’d definitely recommend just buying the pumpkin pie spice. it’ll cost you a lot less and you won’t have to mess with mixing them yourself! 🙂
Oh my goodness, my heart just skipped a beat. A recipe so I can make this amazing drink at home?? My day just got 100 times better (and a little less expensive, cause I was planning a Starbucks stop)