How To Make Your Own Pumpkin Pie Spice

Once cooler temperatures roll around it seems pumpkin pie spice is everywhere. Lattes, desserts, breakfast staples like pancakes and waffles ... you name it, there's a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice in there.

Before you think about purchasing ready-made pumpkin pie spice mix, why not consider making your own?

There are many reasons to make your own pumpkin pie spice mix – most notably flavour and ease of preparation – so think twice before picking up a pre–made spice mix that has been sitting on the shelf for months. Your taste buds will thank you.

Learning how to make pumpkin pie spice is easy. If you are an avid baker then odds are you have the ingredients in your cupboard already.

What is pumpkin pie spice made of?

Pumpkin pie spice is a blend of five spices you most likely already have in your spice cabinet – cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and cloves. All you have to do is combine them! Make sure to keep the end resultin an airtight container until you’re ready to use it.

How to make pumpkin pie spice

All you need for making pumpkin pie spice from scratch are just five ingredients: cinnamon, cloves, ginger, allspice and nutmeg.

You can buy the spices already ground, but buy whole nutmeg and grind it yourself. Nutmeg should be ground fresh every time because its potency starts to wear off as soon as it's in powder form. To grind it use a microplane, a small grater or a specialty nutmeg grinder.

The recipe below yields about a tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice. It is a small batch but it goes a long way since you'll need about a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice for most recipes. 

Pumpkin pie spice recipe

• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp. allspice

Mix all the spices together and store your homemade pumpkin pie spice in an airtight container. Use in cakes, pies, drinks and wherever you'd like a dash of fall flavour.

Pumpkin pie

What better way to use your pumpkin pie spice than by making a pumpkin pie? Try this classic recipe garnished with cranberries – the perfect Thanksgiving or Halloween dessert.

• Make the pastry.
• Roughly dice the pumpkin and add to melted butter with the spices and maple syrup. Add milk and cook for about 10 minutes.
• Line the pie dish with the pastry.
• Mix the pumpkin purée with sugar, cream, cornstarch and egg yolks. Fold in beaten egg whites.
• Assemble the tart and bake for 35-40 minutes at 200˚C.

Pumpkin spice latte

One of the best uses for homemade pumpkin pie spice mix is to make a delectable pumpkin spice latte. Here's how to do it.

• Make your pumpkin spice as per the recipe above.
• Brew the coffee and measure out twice as much milk.
• Pour the milk, pumpkin purée, pumpkin pie spice and sugar into a pan and bring to a simmer. Whisk well to blend.
• Pour the coffee into a mug and top with the fragrant pumpkin milk.

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