‘Tis the season for scarves, hats, cable-knit socks, boots, fingerless gloves, and festive, red cups. And inside those cups is liquid festivity. Coffee. Hot chocolate. Holiday teas. Happiness. Sustenance for finals.
As we find ourselves in the throes of the holiday season, we find our hearts filled with joy and excitement, and our heads filled with thoughts of family, friends and food. And along with these festive feelings come stomachs hankering for the delicious treats that help define the last month of the year.
For many individuals, the biggest sign that the holidays are near is the return of festive beverages to coffee shops. Whether at a Starbucks or an independent coffee shop, it’s possible to find holiday staples, such as peppermint mochas, cider, eggnog, and pumpkin spice lattes, everywhere you go. Given the ubiquity of these beverages and the feelings of festivity that come with drinking them, these drinks prove to be some of the ultimate temptations, as they certainly make long walks to class in the nippy fall weather more enjoyable.
However, for as popular as these drinks are, we really don’t know much about them. But given what is truly inside, this may be for the best. These treats tend to be full of sugar, fat and artificial ingredients.
Take the famous (or infamous, if you so choose) pumpkin spice latte, fondly known as the PSL. Until this year, the PSL lacked any actual pumpkin, and got its sweet, autumnal flavor from the 50 grams of sugar found in the grande size, and pumpkin flavoring. While real pumpkin has recently been added to the drink, it is not added in quantities great enough to actually change the makeup of the beverage.
Furthermore, the ingredients of the pumpkin spice flavoring to which the latte owes its fame, contain condensed milk, meaning the drink can never be vegan, and caramel color level IV, which is classified as a carcinogen. Other unsatisfactory ingredients of this popular autumn beverage including endless preservatives in its flavoring.
To top it all off, a grande size of the Starbuck’s version of the PSL with whipped cream packs a whopping 420 calories.
However, for health conscious individuals who are hankering for the flavors, but want to watch what they are consuming, there are several homemade alternatives that taste just as good, and allow one to control what goes into their body. Here’s one that I love:
HOMEMADE PSL RECIPE
3 tablespoons canned pumpkin
A pinch of pumpkin pie spice (add more to taste, and use for garnish as well)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups whole milk
2 shots espresso
Whipped Cream
Cinnamon Stick (for garnish)
(Optional) Begin by mixing the pumpkin pie spice and the canned pumpkin, and then heating them in the microwave. By doing so, you can enhave the warm, roasted aroma provided by the spice, and open up the flavor profile of the pumpkin. (If you cannot get pumpkin pie filling and whole milk, a great alternative would be to use flavored coffee creamer!)
1. Combine the vanilla extract, the sugar and the milk. Warm them gently over the stove. While whisking the milk to mix the ingredients, begin adding in the pumpkin mixture. If you don’t have access to the stove, heat all of the ingredients together in a microwave on intervals of 30 to 45 seconds, depending on the power of the microwave. Make sure to mix them thoroughly between each time to put them in once again to ensure that the ingredients heat thoroughly and are combined properly.
2. Froth the milk. You can do this step with either a traditional milk frother, or a blender.
3. Make the coffee.
4. Mix the drinks! Combine the coffee and the frothed milk. Pour into mugs, and garnish with whipped cream, a cinnamon stick and a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice on top for an absolutely adorable holiday drink!
Cover photo: Susanne Nilsson
No Comments