I love fall and all the things that come with the season, changing leaves, crisp fall air, cozy sweaters and relaxing with a nice hot beverage. On a blustery day i like to cuddle up on the couch with my coziest sweater and slippers and drink some herbal tea or cocoa. one of my favorite beverages is the pumpkin Spice latte that pops up from starbucks this time of year. Really I love pumpkin anything (another reason I love fall) and this is just one more of those things. Fortunately for me (and my wallet) this is pretty easy to make. Here is the way I like to make it, there are a lot of different recipes floating around out there, if you want you could also purchase flavored syrups from the Starbucks Store or other places that sell such things.
Ingredients:
6 oz Strong Coffee
8 oz hot milk or soy milk
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Whipped Cream (optional) (see recipe below for an easy home made version)
One great thing about making drinks at home is that you can tailor them to your tastes. If it it is too sweet use less sugar, not sweet enough add more, same goes for any of the ingredients. Play with the recipe until you get it to taste the way you like best, that is part of the fun :)
First brew your coffee. then heat your milk either on your stove or in the microwave (if you have a cappucino maker with a milk steamer all the better). I microwave mine for 2 minutes on high. If using the stove stir frequently so the milk doesn't scald on the bottom. Place hot milk, sugar, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice in a blender and blend untill it starts to froth (about 15 seconds). Pour into a large cup or divide into a couple of smaller cups and pour your coffee on top, this will create a nice foam, if desired top with whipped cream and a dash of pumpkin pie spice and ENJOY!
If you love the taste of homemade whipped cream here is an easy recipe to top off your delicious coffee:
1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
2 tbsp confectioners sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract (you can play around with different extracts to give your whipped cream different flavors for different recipes)
This recipe works best if you use a metal or glass bowl and chill it (along with your beaters) for about 15 minutes. Beat all ingredients together on high until the mixture begins to form stiff peaks. That is it, easy and delicious!
