Fall has arrived! Well, I guess according to the calendar it's not official, but Starbucks has rolled out the fall flavors, so that's close enough for me! Unfortunately, these delicious drinks are full of sugar, which I've cut back on drastically since June. After playing around I came up with an at-home version without sugar! Plus you can make a batch for the week to keep in the fridge and brew your coffee each day to make things faster in the morning. Here's what you need:
1/2 c unsweetened vanilla almond milk (swap for coconut milk if you prefer)
1/2 tbsp pumpkin puree
2 tsp Stevia or your favorite sweetener (this amount you may always want to play with to get your desired sweetness)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp pumpkin spice + a dash for garnish
1/2 c brewed coffee
1/2 c heavy whipping cream
Heat the milk, pumpkin puree, 1 tsp of sweetener, vanilla, and the pumpkin spice in a sauce pan over low-medium heat. Once the mixture is thoroughly heated and the pumpkin puree evenly mixed throughout the liquid, remove from heat. Use a frother to add some air into the milk. I don't like a lot of foam, so I skip this step.
For the topping, whisk the heavy whipping cream and the remainder of the sweetener until it peaks. This can take forever, so be prepared for an arm work out. My favorite tip for making whipped cream: stick your mixing bowl in the freezer for 20 minutes before starting. This makes the cream colder and form faster. This will get you a little extra whipped cream than you need for your drink, but there's no such thing as too much whipped cream. Top your drink and garnish with a dash of pumpkin spice.
Not a pumpkin spice fan? What's your fall drink of choice? I'm huge fan of chai tea lattes, so maybe that will be my next experiment!