Pumpkin!

I love pumpkin. Pumpkin anything. Pie. Muffins. Coffee. Doughnuts. Ale. Ice Cream. Bread. Cake. So I got a couple of cans of pumpkin last week and went to town. I made the Pumpkin Bread from my fall baking list and I tried a homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte.

Now there's a story behind the latte. The day I made it, I had been out and about all day, shopping and running errands and such. Well I decided I had a wicked craving for a pumpkin coffee. So I pull up to the Starbuck's drive-thru and order a Pumpkin Spice latte. The man on the other end of the speaker replies that they are out of Pumpkin Spice for the day. Worst Starbuck's ever. So I drove away. I figured I could still hit up Dunkin' for a pumpkin coffee. Wrong, apparently. I came to find out that my Dunkin' had closed and been all but torn down. At that point, I gave up.

So that's my story. I was forced to make my own pumpkin coffee from scratch. It turned out to be a good thing, since both the bread and the latte came out fantastically, if I may say so!

Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients
- 5 eggs
- 1 1/4 C. vegetable oil
- 1 (15oz) can pumpkin
- 2 C. flour
- 2 C. sugar
- 2 (3oz.) pkgs. cook-and-serve vanilla pudding mix (not instant)
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp. salt

Method
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs for about a minute. Add the oil and pumpkin, and beat until smooth.

- Combine the flour, sugar, pudding mix, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt with a whisk.
 

- Gradually beat the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture. Mix until just combined.

- Pour the mixture into 2 greased loaf pans. (I cut the recipe in half, so I only used one.)

- Bake at 325 degrees F for 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

- Cool for 10 minutes in the pan before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Pretty simple recipe, but super delicious. It doesn't have great measurements to conveniently cut in half, but it's do-able. The eggs were the hardest, since it's weird to try for 2 1/2 eggs, but I pretty much just used 2 eggs plus one yolk. Maybe it's easier to just make the full recipe and freeze one, or give one away!


Pumpkin Spice Latte
Ingredients (Single Serving)
- 1 C. milk
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp. allspice
- 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. canned pumpkin
- 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
- 1/2 Tbsp. vanilla extract
- 1 C. very strongly brewed hot coffee

Method
- In a small saucepan over med-high heat, warm the milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, pumpkin, and brown sugar until steaming (but not boiling!).

- Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.

- Pour the milk mixture into a large blender and blend until frothy. (Be very careful when blending the hot liquid. It will expand rapidly. As a precaution, take the insert out of the top and just cover the hole with a kitchen towel while blending, so the lid doesn't blow off!)

- Add the milk mixture to the strong hot coffee, in a large mug. Sprinkle with cinnamon and serve!

It was the perfect fall day treat! I actually made a pumpkin pie last weekend, too, but I was in a hurry and didn't take any pictures. Oh, well... I'm sure I'll make it again soon! 'Tis the season - go forth and make something pumpkin-y!

Enjoy!