Pumpkin Pie Spice

With just a handful of pantry spices, you can make your very own Pumpkin Pie Spice mix to have on hand throughout the season!

Our Pumpkin Spice is a super simple combination of just four basic ingredients; cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.  This recipe can be mixed right at home in mere minutes.  As an added bonus, this spice mix can be added to practically anything you can imagine – more on that below.

Storing today’s pumpkin spice mix couldn’t be simpler.  Just stick it in an airtight jar, set the jar in you spice cabinet, and it will keep all season long.

Below we’ll be covering ‘what’ pumpkin spice exactly is, providing an ingredient checklist, and going over some creative ways to really pack in the flavor all season long.

What is Pumpkin Spice?

Short Answer: Cinnamon mixed with some combination of cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice, with the occasional appearance of brown sugar.

If you want a longer answer, here it goes.

Nailing down precisely ‘what’ Pumpkin Spice is, and what it’s supposed to taste like, can be a bit difficult. This is in part because Pumpkin Spice is a bit like curry in that it is not an actual ‘spice’ but rather a mix of spices.  As a result, it should be no surprise that commercially available blends are all different from one another – sometimes drastically so.  Add to that the various ‘artisanal’ blends produced in-house by coffee shops and bakeries around the world, and the picture becomes even more muddled.

However, in general, the recipe usually comes down to a cinnamon-based blend of nutmeg, ginger, cloves, brown sugar, and allspice.  Allspice is, by all accounts, the rarest addition to the mixture, and is used in the smallest quantity.

This recipe originated as the flavoring for pumpkin pie.  Over the decades, it has since become an industry unto itself, with Business Insider reporting that pumpkin spice products generate some half a billion dollars annually.

Ingredient Checklist

My pumpkin spice recipe features just four basic ingredients.

• Cinnamon. Ubiquitous and beloved, if ever one spice ‘tastes like Autumn,’ this is the one.  ‘tastes like Fall.’  Cinnamon gives the pie a nice ‘hearth and home’ flavor with just a hint of background sweetness.
• Ground Ginger.  Powdered ginger is what you’re looking for here.  Powered ginger is a much more ‘warming’ and ‘earthy’ spice than its fresh counterpart, making it ideal for pumpkin spice – and autumn themed recipes in general.
• Ground Cloves.  Combined with the ginger and the cinnamon, cloves really help complete the flavor profile with nutty, warming, and earthy notes.
• Nutmeg.  The spice that tastes like Christmas.  This delightful spice is super versatile, and well worth learning how to use, as it can fancy up everything from roasted vegetables to beef roasts.

What to do with Pumpkin Spice

• Lattes. Let’s get this one out of the way, since it’s the seasonal favorite.  Turning your coffee or latte into a “Pumpkin Spice Coffee” or “Pumpkin Spice Latte” is as simple as portioning out your desired amount of Pumpkin Spice into your mug…no really, that’s all there is to it. Personally, I use a pinch or two per six-ounces of brewed coffee.
• Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles. Soft and slightly chewy, Snickerdoodles are an irresistible treat and for good reason. Traditionally rolled in cinnamon sugar, we’re playing into that sweet and warmly spiced profile with the addition of pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice.
• Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Cookies.  What happens if you spice up a chocolate chip cookie dough with our homemade blend of pumpkin spice?  Deliciousness happens, that’s what.  We then roll out the dough in cinnamon sugar, creating a cookie that’s chewy on the inside, with a crisp sugar crust.
• Pancakes with Pumpkin Spice Maple Syrup.  Diner-style pancakes that are blissfully fluffy and irresistibly decadent.  This particular batch of pancakes are being served with a beloved seasonal twist – Pumpkin Spice Maple Syrup.  Be sure to check out my recipe to see my super-secret ingredient for ensuring a fluffy texture every time.
• Pumpkin Spice Muffins. Plump raisins and sweet pecans make these Pumpkin Spice Muffins a quintessential autumn treat that can be enjoyed any time of day, and by the entire family.

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