Everyone goes nuts this time of year for Starbucks’ famous pumpkin spice lattes, and pumpkin spice products in general are very popular.
If you’re a homesteader, however, you’re probably more preoccupied with what to do with all your pumpkin! Pumpkin vines can be very productive and you end up with more pumpkin than you know what to do with.
One great way to use up spare pumpkin is by making your own pumpkin spice syrup, which is the base for pumpkin spice lattes and other yummy pumpkin spice goodies (here’s the recipe for the latte itself if you’re interested)
What you need:
- Raw pumpkin, cut in half
- 1 tbs pumpkin pie spice (how to make your own)
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Recipe:
- Scrape the seeds out of the halved pumpkin and put on a cookie sheet in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, let cool slightly, and scrape the pumpkin out of the skin and into a blender. Puree.
- Set aside all but 1/3 cup pumpkin puree for other pumpkin recipes. You can let cool completely and refrigerate or freeze for soups, pie, muffins, etc.
- Put the 1/3 cup of puree in a medium saucepan with the sugar, water and spices. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, and reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 3 minutes until slightly thickened. Remove from heat, let cool.
- Keep in a sealed, refrigerated container for up to a week.
You can use this syrup as you would regular syrup, over pancakes, in muffins or cookies, or raw vegan deserts. And of course, you can use as the base for your own pumpkin spice latte. You can even play around and make a pumpkin spice tea latte or iced pumpkin spice latte!
Have fun and happy fall!
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