If you love pumpkin spice coffee drinks, then you know how tasty they are and how expensive it can get to buy them at your local coffee shop. You might think that making your own pumpkin spice latte at home is too involved to be worth it, but actually, it’s not that bad. One of the best ways to make your favorite pumpkin spice beverages at home is to make pumpkin spice creamer. Once you whip up a batch of pumpkin spice creamer, turning your morning coffee into a delicious pumpkin spice treat is as easy as adding creamer.
In this article, we teach you our favorite method for making pumpkin spice creamer. It is not as hard as you might think, and the general principles easily transfer to making other creamers, so learning how to make this recipe will open you up to the wide world of homemade creamers.
How to Make Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer:
Before you start, make sure you have the necessary ingredients and equipment on hand.
- Small saucepan
- Whisk
- Heat-proof container for storage
- ¼ cup pumpkin puree
- 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice
- 4 tablespoons of packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup of milk
- 1 cup of heavy cream (or half-and-half)
Steps
- Put the pumpkin pie spice in a small saucepan and let them toast on medium heat for 1 minute. Don’t leave them unattended, and remove them from heat immediately if they start to burn.
- After 1 minute, add the pumpkin puree and brown sugar. Whisk the ingredients together until they are well-mixed—heat for about 30 seconds.
- After 30 seconds, remove from heat and add the milk and cream. You can substitute the heavy cream for half-and-half if you want to make a low-fat creamer. Whisk vigorously until the mixture has a smooth texture.
- Pour the mixture into a heat-proof container. We prefer to use glass since it’s easy to clean and won’t hold any flavors or scents.
- Let the mixture sit until room temperature, cover with a lid, and put it in the refrigerator.
- This makes enough creamer for about 5-6 coffee drinks and will keep for up to 5 days.
Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice
If you want to take your homemade coffee creamer to the next level, consider making homemade pumpkin pie spice instead of using a store bought version. Making your own pumpkin pie spice is a breeze and gives you the freedom to adjust the relative amounts of each component spice to give your pumpkin spice creamer a unique personal flair.
In general, pumpkin pie spice consists of a blend of several spices:
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
- ginger
- allspice
- gloves
These spices are readily available in most supermarkets and grocery stores in both pre-ground and whole varieties. If you have a spice grinder, buy the whole spices and grind them yourself for the freshest experience. However, don’t worry about choosing the pre-ground options. The difference between freshly ground spices and pre-ground spices is noticeable, but using pre-ground spices will still make a delicious pumpkin spice creamer.
Related: Homemade Pumpkin Spice Cold Brew Recipe
Our Favorite Spice Ratios
The biggest advantage to making your own pumpkin pie spice is you get to control the flavor. To get you started, here are our favorite ratios to use. Once you try the spice in creamer, you can tweak the amounts of each spice to get it just the way you want it.
- 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons nutmeg
- 1½ teaspoons ginger
- 1½ teaspoons ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
We like to go easy on the ginger and cloves in favor of nutmeg and cinnamon, but many people prefer to do the opposite. Allspice is the main defining ingredient in pumpkin pie spice, so you might want to dial it up a little bit to really get that pumpkin spice flavor.
Using Your Pumpkin Spice Creamer
You can use your homemade pumpkin spice creamer in any coffee drink you like, from a regular morning cup to fancier drinks like lattes and cappuccinos. We use ours in place of milk most often, and occasionally we’ll break out the frother and make a latte by frothing our pumpkin spice creamer. It can be a little difficult to foam since it isn’t pure milk, but it works well enough and makes a delicious, smooth treat. Purists will say it isn’t an authentic latte, but we can’t hear them over the taste of our delicious pumpkin spice drink.
Pumpkin Spice Creamer Recipe
Equipment
- Small saucepan
- Whisk
- Heat-proof container for storage
Ingredients
- ¼ cup pumpkin puree
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 4 tbsp packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup heavy cream (or half-and-half)
Instructions
- Put the pumpkin pie spice in a small saucepan and let them toast on medium heat for 1 minute. Don't leave them unattended, and remove them from heat immediately if they start to burn.
- After 1 minute, add the pumpkin puree and brown sugar. Whisk the ingredients together until they are well-mixed—heat for about 30 seconds.
- After 30 seconds, remove from heat and add the milk and cream. You can substitute the heavy cream for half-and-half if you want to make a low-fat creamer. Whisk vigorously until the mixture has a smooth texture.
- Pour the mixture into a heat-proof container. We prefer to use glass since it's easy to clean and won't hold any flavors or scents.
- Let the mixture sit until room temperature, cover with a lid, and put it in the refrigerator.
- This makes enough creamer for about 5-6 coffee drinks and will keep for up to 5 days.
Pumpkin Spice as a Coffee Creamer: Final Thoughts
Making a batch of pumpkin spice creamer is surprisingly inexpensive and easy. It doesn’t take many ingredients to make the simple version, and even if you decide to make your own pumpkin pie spice blend, there isn’t much you need.
We love having a jug of pumpkin spice creamer on hand to satisfy our pumpkin spice cravings whenever we want, without having to take a trip to the coffee shop and without breaking the bank. If you’re a pumpkin spice coffee lover, you owe it to yourself to give it a try!
Featured Image Credit: AtlasStudio, Shutterstock
