It’s officially pumpkin season, and that means pumpkin-spiced everything is on the menu. But you might be surprised to learn that a lot of “pumpkin spice” treats don’t actually have any real pumpkin in them. The best way to enjoy an authentic pumpkin-spiced latte or batch of cookies is to make it yourself. Here are the recipes for five delicious pumpkin-flavored foods.
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Pumpkin-spiced latte
Yes, you can make a pumpkin spiced latte from scratch. Obviously, it takes much more time than ordering it from Starbucks, but unlike the Starbucks version, this recipe from Kitchn contains real pumpkin. It’s also significantly cheaper to make yourself, and you can make it all year round. The ingredients are easy to find, and you can use whatever type of milk and cream you like.
The above recipe calls for canned pumpkin, but you can also try buying a pumpkin from the farmer’s market and cooking it yourself. You don’t have to use it only for lattes; it can also be used for the next recipes.
Pumpkin cookies with pumpkin buttercream
This recipe from Minimalist Baker is positively decadent. You can make these cookies using pureed pumpkin or pumpkin butter, which is essentially a pureed pumpkin reduction. If you want to go the extra mile, you can also use the pumpkin butter to make a pumpkin buttercream frosting to spread on top of the cookies. Is your mouth watering yet?
Pumpkin brownies
The fall bake sale would not be complete without pumpkin brownies. This recipe from The Big Man’s World is great for literally everyone, because it’s gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free. With only three ingredients, it’s incredibly easy for anyone to make. The brownies are rich and decadent, but if you want them to be sweeter, you can simply add half a cup of maple syrup.
Pumpkin pie
Store-bought pumpkin pie fillings are a great shortcut for making pumpkin pie, but if you’re the type of person who wants full control over everything that goes into your pie, here’s the recipe for you. Minimalist Baker knocks it out of the park again with a dairy-free and gluten-free pumpkin pie recipe. Just because it’s from scratch, that doesn’t mean it’s complicated. It only has 10 ingredients, including the crust!
Pumpkin soup
You probably weren’t expecting this one, right? Pumpkin isn’t just for sweets; it also works great in savory dishes like this pumpkin soup from The Pioneer Woman. All you need is pumpkin, vegetable stock, nutmeg, and whatever type of cream you like. To really impress your guests, you can serve the soup in an actual pumpkin!
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