homemade pumpkin spice latte

i know... it's totally that time of year that people are obsessed with their PSLs. not me. i don't loooooove a pumpkin spice latte. i just don't! there's something about it that's just a bit too much for me. too much milk. too much fake flavoring. i just don't love it. BUT, last weekend when B and i had a quiet sunday morning, i took the opportunity to whip up a little treat... a homemade pumpkin spice latte. i loved the idea that i could tailor it to my liking - both in taste, strength AND the amount of milk i wanted in my coffee.

these were a hit :) extra wifey points for me!

recipe via the kitchn

makes 2 lattes

ingredients

2-3 tablespoons canned pumpkin

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, plus more to garnish

fresh ground black pepper

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups milk (we used 1%)

1-2 espresso shots, or strongly brewed coffee

directions

1. in a small saucepan over medium heat, cook the pumpkin with the pumpkin pie spice and a generous helping of black pepper for 2 minutes or until hot and smells cooked. stir constantly.

2. add sugar and stir until the mixture looks like a bubbly thick syrup.

3. whisk in the milk and vanilla extract. warm gently over medium heat, watching carefully to make sure it doesn't boil over.

4. optional: carefully blend milk mixture with a hand blender, or traditional blender.

if you're using a fuller fat milk, this will really make your mixture frothy. for those using a skimmer milk, i found that this step doesn't make a huge difference.

5. make espresso or coffee and divide between two mugs, and add frothed milk. feel free to add a whipped cream topping and an extra sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon or nutmeg.

6. enjoy! :)