This Pumpkin Spice Latte recipe uses real pumpkin and can be made two ways, as a light pumpkin spice latte or as a more decadent version.
Hey guys, happy Saturday. How is your weekend treating you so far?
You might remember a few months ago I announced the start of Simple Saturdays, where I use Saturdays to post quick, simple recipes, tips, and tricks that just don’t find their way onto the main blog calendar.
They went on a bit of a hiatus during summer, but they’re back just in time for fall, and we’re starting up again with the ever-controversial Pumpkin Spice Latte.
I don’t know exactly where we as a collective culture stand on pumpkin spice lattes in 2016. We’re still mocking them at every opportunity, but they are so maligned at this point that I feel like it’s almost hipster cool again to like them unironically.
Personally, I’m a fan, and I’m happy to be a fan in the good times and bad, and I boy, do love me a good Pumpkin Spice Meme…
Anyway, since this is a Simple Saturday post, we’ll get right to the recipe so you can enjoy the rest of your weekend. I give you my pumpkin spice latte recipe, two ways: light and decadent.
Both versions are made with real pumpkin, pumpkin-adjacent spices, sugar, coffee, and milk/cream, but the ratios are different so you can have a dashing-out-the-door-with-a-coffee-cup-and-a-full-day-of-meetings-ahead-of-you Light Pumpkin Spice Latte or a sit-by-the-window-on-a-rainy-day-with- a-good-book * Decadent Pumpkin Spice Latte.
Both are delicious, both are a great way to use up leftover pumpkin puree, and both are just begging for you to give them a shot this weekend.
Enjoy the rest of the weekend, and I’ll see you back here Monday with a quick and easy chicken dinner recipe!
More Starbucks Coffee Drinks
- Homemade Mocha
- White Chocolate Mocha
- Caramel Macchiato
- Iced Mocha
If you are opening up a can of pumpkin puree to make this recipe, check out my post What to Do With Leftover Pumpkin Puree for some ideas on storing and using up leftovers.
Equipment
- Fine mesh strainer
Ingredients
Lighter Pumpkin Spice Latte
- ▢ 1/2 cup skim milk
- ▢ 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree
- ▢ 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ▢ 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon plus more for topping
- ▢ Pinch of nutmeg
- ▢ Pinch of ground ginger
- ▢ Pinch of ground cloves
- ▢ 1/2 cup strong hot coffee
Decadent Pumpkin Spice Latte
- ▢ 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons milk
- ▢ 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- ▢ 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree
- ▢ 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ▢ 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon plus more for topping
- ▢ Pinch of nutmeg
- ▢ Pinch of ground ginger
- ▢ Pinch of ground cloves
- ▢ 1/2 cup strong hot coffee
- ▢ Whipped cream for topping
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, over medium-high heat, whisk all ingredients except the coffee together until steaming hot and well combined. Pour mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove any large pieces of pumpkin. This step is optional, but if you skip it, you will have a bit of pumpkin at the bottom of your cup.
- Add coffee to a 12-ounce mug and pour in pumpkin spice mixture. Stir, top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon if desired, and enjoy.
Nutritional Information for Light Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe Nutritional Information for Decadent Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe Recipes Adapted From Food Network
These Pumpkin Shortbread Cookies made with browned butter and pumpkin puree are lightly spiced, the perfect combo of crunchy and crumbly, and full of pumpkin flavor.
But when I went looking for pumpkin shortbread cookie recipes, I realized a pumpkin/shortbread hybrid was easier said than created.
Here’s the thing about cooking with pumpkin: pumpkin holds a ton of moisture. That’s why cooking with it gives you the softest, moistest breads, cakes, cookies in the world.
So adding pumpkin to shortbread gives you a bit of a problem.
To get the correct shortbread texture and use pumpkin, you have to remove some of the moisture from the ingredients. I initially thought about cooking the pumpkin until it was reduced, but that meant a fairly long cooking time that I didn’t want to build into the recipe. But, by a stroke of luck, while researching a different recipe, I discovered that you can actually just literally squeeze the moisture out of canned pumpkin.
Seriously. It’s easy. And only takes a few paper towels and about 30 seconds. Win!
Squeezed Pumpkin Puree, Browned Butter and Pumpkin Puree, Dough (1/2 batch)
The second thing I knew I was going to have to do was cook some of the water out of the butter. This means browning it over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes while some of the water evaporates, and you are left with butter that is dark, aromatic, and beautiful. Plus, the browned butter gives these cookies a rich, nutty base flavor. Double win!
If you’ve never browned butter before, I’ve embedded a how-to video from America’s Test Kitchen below the recipe. The process isn’t hard, but sometimes it’s nice to have a visual reference.
Once you have your pumpkin and butter prepared, these cookies come together in a flash and are so worth the little extra trouble at the start.
I’m a huge fan of these pumpkin shortbread cookies. They are full of pumpkin flavor and have just the right balance between crunchy and crumbly, sweet but not too sweet, and spiced but not overwhelmingly so. I drizzled the cookies with a bit of melted chocolate for added visual interest in the photos (and I put instructions for it in the recipe) but they don’t really need it.
These cookies are just as tasty naked. 😉
This recipes uses 1/4 cup of pumpkin puree, which about 1/7 of a standard 15-ounce can. You can check out my post What to Do With Leftover Pumpkin Puree for some ideas on what to do with the other 6/7s.
For more pumpkin recipes, try P umpkin Donuts With Maple Glaze , Small-batch Pumpkin Cupcakes , and this Small Pumpkin Cake .
Ingredients
Pumpkin Shortbread Cookies
- ▢ 1/4 cup ( 61 g) pumpkin puree
- ▢ 1/2 cup ( 4 oz) salted butter cubed
- ▢ 1 cup ( 120 g) all-purpose flour
- ▢ 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons ( 45 g) powdered sugar
- ▢ 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ▢ 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- ▢ 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- ▢ 1/8 teaspoon ginger
Chocolate Drizzle
- ▢ 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chopped (high-quality chips are fine)
- ▢ 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
Instructions
Pumpkin Shortbread Cookies
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat.
- Scoop pumpkin puree onto a very clean dish towel or a couple layers of paper towels, fold towel over the puree, and press down firmly, squeezing moisture out of. Flip the puree onto a dry spot and repeat once or twice more until most of the moisture has been removed and you can pick the puree up in a ball.
- Melt butter in a medium, heavy-bottomed, light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook, swirling the pan frequently, until butter becomes a medium nutty brown color. Do not leave the butter unattended as the milk solids will burn easily. Remove from heat.
- Add prepared pumpkin puree to the butter and whisk vigorously until well-combined (it will bubble and pop, so be careful).
- In a large bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients. Pour pumpkin and butter mixture over the top and use a rubber spatula to stir the ingredients until well-combined.
- Place the dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll out to about 1/4-inch thick. Place in the refrigerator while you clean up, about 5 minutes.
- Remove dough from the refrigerator and cut out 30 to 40 1 1/2-inch rounds. Use a metal spatula to transfer rounds to prepared baking sheet. Gathering scraps and re-rolling (between your sheets of parchment paper) as necessary.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the tops of the cookies lose their shiny, under-cooked look.
- Cool completely on the tray, at least 20 min.
Chocolate Drizzle
- In a small, microwave-safe bowl, combine chopped chocolate and oil. Microwave on medium for 30 seconds. Stir. Continue to microwave in 15-second increments if necessary, until your chocolate is smooth. Use a spoon to drizzle chocolate or transfer chocolate to a small plastic bag and snip a very small piece of the corner so you can “pipe” lines.
- Chocolate will set in about 1 hour, or transfer cookies to the refrigerator and it will set almost immediately.
How to Brown Butter
Basil Chicken Pasta is one of my favorite quick and easy meals. Just simmer basil, chicken, and tomatoes together, serve over the pasta of your choice, sprinkle with Parmesan, and enjoy!
This month on the blog, we are making super simple dinners that are healthy, easy, and quick. Last week we made Teriyaki Chicken with Homemade Teriyaki sauce , a dinner that comes together in all of 15 minutes.
Today I’m sharing a recipe that takes a few minutes longer, but is just as simple, Basil Chicken Pasta.
Do you have days where you just do. not. want. to. cook. anything? I have those days all the time, and rather than dig out a take out menu, this is the dish I turn to. Basil Chicken Pasta is low-maintenance food at its best.
To make this dish, you just cube a chicken breast, roughly (sometimes angrily–I don’t know what your day was like) chop some onion and garlic, open a can of tomatoes, add some basil, and simmer away.
You can make your basil chicken pasta with fresh basil or dried, whatever you have on hand. I am a horrible murderer of windowsill herbs, so usually I use dried, but my most recent victim kitchen basil plant is somehow still kicking, so I used fresh basil in the photos.
In about 20 minutes, you wind up with a dish that is light and simple but completely satisfying. I love the flavor the basil gives to the chicken and tomatoes, and since you are serving this over pasta–I usually choose angel hair, but use whatever you want– it’s basically law that you sprinkle it with plenty of Parmesan just before serving.
Plate it up with a side of Butter and Garlic Green Beans or the side of your choice , and your dinner’s going to be a good one!
More Easy Chicken Dinners
- Chicken Fajitas
- Chicken Parm Soup
- Chicken Shawarma With Yogurt Sauce
- Chicken Carcass Soup
This recipe serves two, but doubles (or triples–go nuts!) with no major changes to cooking time or method. See recipe notes for details.
Ingredients
Basil Chicken Pasta
- ▢ 4 ounces angel hair pasta or pasta of choice*
- ▢ 1 small (about 8 oz) boneless chicken breast cubed 1 inch
- ▢ 1/4 cup diced onion about 1/4 medium onion
- ▢ 2 cloves garlic pressed or diced
- ▢ 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
- ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil or 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
For Topping
- ▢ 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
- ▢ Fresh basil optional, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Put a pot of lightly salted water on to boil for your pasta.
- Spray a medium skillet, with cooking spray, or drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Brown cubed chicken over medium heat, 3 to 5 minutes. Lightly salt and pepper the chicken while it is cooking.
- Add onions and garlic, and cook until chicken is cooked through and onions begin to turn translucent at the edges, another 3 to 5 minutes.
- Stir in canned tomatoes (and their juices), basil, and salt. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until thick and saucy, about 6 minutes.
- Start your pasta, and cook according to package instructions until al dente.* Drain and divide into two bowls.
- Stir hot sauce into the tomatoes and check the salt level. Add more if needed. Divide the sauce between your two bowls. Top with Parmesan and optional fresh basil.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe Two Ways
Equipment
- Fine mesh strainer
Ingredients
Lighter Pumpkin Spice Latte
- 1/2 cup skim milk
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon plus more for topping
- Pinch of nutmeg
- Pinch of ground ginger
- Pinch of ground cloves
- 1/2 cup strong hot coffee
Decadent Pumpkin Spice Latte
- 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon plus more for topping
- Pinch of nutmeg
- Pinch of ground ginger
- Pinch of ground cloves
- 1/2 cup strong hot coffee
- Whipped cream for topping
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, over medium-high heat, whisk all ingredients except the coffee together until steaming hot and well combined. Pour mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove any large pieces of pumpkin. This step is optional, but if you skip it, you will have a bit of pumpkin at the bottom of your cup.
- Add coffee to a 12-ounce mug and pour in pumpkin spice mixture. Stir, top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon if desired, and enjoy.
