How Unhappy You Made Me, Oh Mandolin

Well, you came and you took without givin'. So, I sent you away, oh Mandolin

I'm sure you've guessed it by now, but I had a slight accident in the kitchen with my newfound toy: Mandolin. Little did I know that this little toy could actually take a little piece of my thumb with it. I'll spare you pictures of what my desecrated finger looks like right now, but I will say that it hurts... A LOT! You would think that I'd be used to being a casualty of war that is baking and cooking, but nope, I'm not... not in the least. BF doesn't like it when I hurt myself in the kitchen (usually because he's the one that needs to patch me up time and again) so I'm trying my hardest not to be affected by losing a part of me (literally). *sigh*

Anyways, to console myself after my disheartening loss, I made myself a Pumpkin Spice Latte that could rival even that of Starbucks. I had some leftover pumpkin from making pumpkin cupcakes, so I figured I might as well try out something new (when am I ever not doing this?) So, thus began my combing of the internet!

And as always, I didn't find anything that I liked. Most of the recipes seem to either be a flavored syrup (like Torani's) only with pumpkin pie spices or the actual making of the latte itself. What I want is what Starbucks has: a premixed liquid that I can store in the refrigerator whenever the Pumpkin Piper comes calling for me so that I can just add it to my latte. Alright then, I'll take matters into my own hands (minus the little part of my thumb that's missing - can you tell I haven't gotten over it yet?)

True to form, I mixed two recipes that I found online together and made some adjustments. The first recipe comes from Stephanie at A Year of Slow Cooking. The next one comes from Teresa at Think Inside the Icebox. Ready? Ok, here we go!

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp cinnamon (I really like cinnamon, but if you don't, you can decrease the amount)
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp allspice
1/4 cup pumpkin (canned or pureed will do here. If you don't want it too pumpkiny, then decrease the amount)

Directions:
Combine water and sugar in a saucepan and heat to a simmer (I left it on medium until it started to boil and then turned down the heat to low). Stir mixture often until sugar is dissolved. Add all the spices (be careful here because my mixture reacted pretty violently to the spices) and stir to combine. Continue to simmer syrup mixture until it becomes thick, about 5-8 more minutes. Add the pumpkin and simmer for another 5 minutes, stirring often.

Transfer mixture to a blender or food processor and blend into a smooth liquid (be careful to not burn yourself since the syrup is still pretty hot). You can also put the mixture in a fine sieve or cheesecloth to remove some of the grainy bits of spices and pumpkin. Place blended mixture into a container and let it cool to room temperature before storing it in the refrigerator.

Depending on how sweet you like your latte, I think this recipe can make quite a few cups. I use about 3-4 tbsp per latte since I really like to taste the pumpkin flavor. And as always, you can change around the recipe to suit your tastes. If you don't like so much pumpkin, just decrease the amount or if you like more spices, just increase them. As much as I like the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte, I tend to think it's a bit on the sweet side, so this is just the right amount for me. If you want your syrup sweeter, just add more sugar.

Enjoy!

 Good Morning Latte

Rise and Shine