Now that I’m half-way to the American dream of 2.0 children, and edging ever closer to that milestone each day (who doesn’t love being pregnant in the heat of August?), I’ve come to realize that summer was great when I was childless, carefree, and 25. But now, with a toddler in tow, and a sweaty protruding tummy, I much prefer the warmth of fall spice to the sweltering heat and humidity of summertime.
Thus to celebrate the start of my new-found favorite season I have assembled 6 Pumpkin Spice recipes from breakfast to lunch to dinner (and dessert!) that will have you celebrating the cooling weather, crisp leaves falling, and yes, football, all season long (and maybe beyond). Part 1 (that’s this one!), has three delectable recipes to try during the beginning of your day; breakfast and lunch have never been so exciting! Part 2, moves on to the latter half of your day with a pumpkin spice snack, dinner recipe and dessert. Happy Fall!!!
Pumpkin Spice Syrup
Use this delightful concoction to create your very own PSL (Pumpkin Spice Latte), pumpkin tea, pumpkin hot chocolate, or even to add a dash of fall to your waffles and pancakes.
½ c. Brown Sugar
½ c. White Sugar
1 c. Water
1 Tbsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
2 Tbsp. Pumpkin Puree
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
- Combine the sugars and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer stirring occasionally so the sugar doesn’t burn.
- When the sugar dissolves add the pumpkin pie spice and pumpkin puree. Whisk or stir to combine and allow to come back to a simmer.
- Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Off heat, add the vanilla extract and stir to combine.
- Allow mixture to cool before storing in a glass container. Store in fridge for optimal freshness.
Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL)
I’m sipping this delightfully warm and spicy treat as I write this, and I must say it is divine. Yes, much better than the $4.00 version you may find at your favorite coffee shop drive through. Just sayin’…
1-3 Tbsp Pumpkin Spice Syrup (see above recipe)
Coffee or Espresso
Steamed or Warmed Milk
Pumpkin Pie Spice
- Sorry to be so unspecific, but seriously this could not be easier. And its SO up to personal taste! I prefer 1 Tbsp syrup, but you may crave something sweeter, so go ahead and add 3 Tbsp. of the sweet stuff!
- First, add the desired amount of syrup to your coffee mug (I used an 8 oz. mug for my PSL)
- Second, add espresso or strong coffee, approximately 1/3 of the way up the mug, stirring in the syrup to combine.
- Add warmed milk to another third, and top with milk foam. Don’t have a milk-foamer at home? No worries, you can either use a French press (simply add the warmed milk, careful not to overfill, and pump the insert repeatedly until milk is light and foamy), OR heat the milk on the stove in a saucepan and whisk briskly (by hand or with an electric mixer) when heated. It won’t be exactly the same, but it does the trick.
- Top foamy milk with a sprinkling of pumpkin pie spice and enjoy!
Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing
OMG are these delicious. My family and I devoured about ½ of this recipe for breakfast, having to cut off Baby Bean after he ate a whole one which resulted in an epic meltdown. That’s how wonderful they are. Perfect for a lazy Sunday, a fall brunch, a holiday breakfast, or really just anytime. This quick and easy recipe will have you making these delectable treats all Autumn long.
Dough:
2 Cans of Crescent Rolls (there’s really no need to reinvent the wheel)
Flour for Dusting
Small Bowl with Luke-Warm (tepid) Water
¼ c. (1/2 stick) Butter
Sprinkling of Cinnamon
Sprinkling of Pumpkin Pie Spice
Filling:
¼ c. (1/2 stick) Butter, softened
½ c. Pumpkin Puree
¼ c. Brown Sugar
¼ c. Sugar
1 Tbsp. Cinnamon
1 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
Icing:
4 oz. Cream Cheese, softened
¼ c. (1/2 stick) Butter, softened
1 ½ c. Powdered Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
¼ tsp. Salt
For the Dough:
- Melt butter over low heat, when melted, remove from heat and sprinkle in a few dashes of Pumpkin Pie Spice, and a few dashes of Cinnamon (no need to be overly precise here, we’re just going to flavor the dough with this mixture). Mix together to “spice” the butter. Set to one side allowing to cool slightly.
- Flour work surface.
- Open crescent roll cans and unroll dough onto work surface, do not break dough apart at perforations. (We’re just here for the delicious dough, not the pre-formed shapes). Join the two rectangles of dough together so there is a short end and a long end, forming a larger rectangle.
- Gently push the perforations and the seam of the two doughs together with your fingers, using some water to help smooth the dough together. Sprinkle the dough with a little bit of flour. Gently use a floured rolling pin to solidify the closures, but be sure not to roll the dough out too thin. Don’t worry if there are still a few gaps in the dough.
- Flip the dough and perform the same task on the opposite side.
- Brush the dough (only on the upward facing side) with the spiced butter. Make sure you don’t use it all, we need this later when we start to roll the dough!
For the Filling:
- Combine the softened butter, pumpkin puree, brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice in a bowl and mix to combine. Use your hands if you need to! If all the butter dissolves into the rest of the ingredients, great! If not, really not a big deal, it will melt nicely in the oven.
- Spread the filling evenly on the dough, making sure to leave about ½” – 1” border all around.
Assemble the Rolls:
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Starting at one of the short ends of the dough, begin gently rolling the dough. Stop every so often to brush the rolled dough with the retained spiced butter. Do this, maybe, 4-5 times throughout the rolling process.
- Seal the end of the dough to the rolled dough using your fingers and the water, and be sure to give the entire roll one last brush of spiced butter.
- Slice the full roll in half, then in half again, and each of those quarters in thirds. The result will be 12 individual rolls.
- Places each roll in one of the cups in an ungreased 12-cup muffin tin, spiral facing up.
- Bake for 16-18 minutes, until rolls are slightly crisp on the outside, but soft on the inside.
- Remove rolls and allow to sit (with icing melting on top! See below) for about 5 minutes before removing and serving.
For the Icing:
- While the rolls cook, combine the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt.
- Work ingredients together with a spoon or spatula until smooth (the mixture will seem too dry, just keep working it until it comes together).
- Apply icing to rolls as soon as they come out of the oven.
Pumpkin Mac and Cheese
Bean is currently going through a no veggie phase, so I’ve been working on strategies to sneak veggies into his diet in any way I can (zucchini bread, whaaaaaaat!). So for lunch today I decided to take one of his favorites, mac and cheese, and add in some pumpkin, and of course, a little pumpkin pie spice to bring it up a notch.
1 lb. Elbow Macaroni
2 c. Milk (honestly, the more fat the better)
1 c. Pumpkin Puree
4 oz. (1/2 block) Cream Cheese, diced into cubes
½ Stick Butter
12 oz. Velveeta Cheese (You can use “real” cheddar, but it just won’t melt as nicely. You’ll also have to eliminate the milk and butter in favor of a roux base)
¼ t. Salt
¼ t. Pepper
1/8 t. Pumpkin Pie Spice
- Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package, but undercook slightly (and don’t forget to salt the water before adding the pasta!)
- Combine the milk, pumpkin, cream cheese, butter, and Velveeta in a saucepan over medium-low heat until cheeses are melted.
- Add the salt, pepper and pumpkin pie spice and whisk the sauce to incorporate.
- Put the cooked, drained pasta in a casserole/baking dish and top with the sauce.
- Refrigerate for 12-24 hours.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes-1 hour until golden and bubbly.
These recipes look great, Elisabeth! I’m going to try making the Pumpkin Spice Syrup tonight 🙂
Thank you! It was so much fun coming up with, and trying out, the recipes. Good luck with the syrup, so super yummy! Happy Fall! 🙂
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