Homemade Pumpkin Spice Lattes

It is the time of year where Starbucks, as well as every other eatery, puts out their seasonal fare. Our favorite is the Pumpkin Spice Lattes. At $5 a cup, this treat can get to be a little much, especially the closer you get to Christmas. Our money can be spent other ways.

I had leftover pumpkin from the roll recipe. And I just followed a recipe I found online. I followed the instructions, but made a few changes after tasting the initial result.

Pumpkin Spice Latte
ingredients:

• 2 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons canned pumpkin
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 cup of strong brewed coffee

procedure:

1. Combine milk, pumpkin and sugar in a saucepan. Cook on medium heat, stirring, until steaming*.
2. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and spice.**
3. Whisk the mixture until foamy.
4. Fill coffee cup halfway with the pumpkin mixture. The top with warm, strong coffee.
   

Tips and alterations:
*If you like the strong pumpkin taste and the brighter orange color, add a little bit more pumpkin to the mix. Also, if your kitchen is cold when making this, the mixture may look as though it is steaming when it really isn't. Get down and look horizontally over the stop of the pan. If you see steam coming uniformly from the pan, you are ready.
**I do not keep pumpkin pie spice on hand. I have never made my own pumpkin pie, and have only come across a handful of recipes calling for it. A mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves can be used instead. I just sprinkled cinnamon and nutmeg over top and it was great.