Homemade pumpkin spice blend is the easiest spice blend to mix with spices you probably already have in your pantry!
Pumpkin Spice Is What Makes Pumpkin Come Alive With Flavor
Pumpkin is just a squash, without the exotic spices that make ‘all things pumpkin.’ That beloved pumpkin we think we love, is really enhanced by the flavors of: cardamom, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, ginger, cinnamon and even white pepper.
Homemade pumpkin spice blend, with many of the favorite spices already in your pantry, lets you emphasize those spices you like most!
If it weren’t for the exotic historic aroma of Pumpkin Spice making it’s annual debut every September, distracting my mind from the garden-fresh days of summer, I would probably cry my way through the winter!
Pumpkin Everything!
From pies to candles (candles will surprise you), coffee to seltzers and the bright orange balls popping up everywhere, I soon realized that pumpkins are as magical as cinderella’s coach!
For me, it was often simply the color, trying to get my mind off the sun that is soon to grow cold.
I had to ask myself ‘what is it exactly, that pumpkins do for me each September’.
Pumpkin Patch
Since the day I had my first child, to this day with several grandchildren, a trip to a local farm or farmer’s market to pick a favorite ‘orange ball’, kicks off Autumn, at least for our family.
These pumpkin patch trips, are not only a special occasion and totally a photo op, but the sparkle in everyone’s eye just feels like a happy place to be.
Of course the aromatherapy that wafts at every corner, luring me to sniff, helps ease the loss of my beloved summer sun.
Even those Cinderella white pumpkins, which look like white-washed pumpkins, are catching my attention more and more.
Is it because they look as though they might turn into a horse drawn coach, or is it the pumpkin spice candle burning along side of them?
Pumpkin Spice Aromatherapy
The steam that rises in a Pumpkin Latte coffee, the way the house smells when a pumpkin pie is baking in the oven, is that same smell in my pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, or pumpkin waffles.
Step away from the kitchen, to your favorite spa or cosmetic counter; hmmmm that smell is there too, and nothing is cooking there, well at least let’s hope not!
What is that smell, if it isn’t (in fact), the smell of a pumpkin?
Homemade Pumpkin Scent?
That smell? Simple, it’s Cardamom, Nutmeg, Cloves, Allspice, Ginger, Cinnamon and sometimes Orange Rinds.
Oh sure, I logically know that pumpkin spice scent has absolutely nothing to do with a pumpkin, because every cook knows that pumpkins have nearly no scent.
However, in the autumn, we love the many warm scented spices we cook with, so let’s go into our pantry, pull out some spices most of us always have tucked away in there, and make our own Pumpkin Spice Blend!
And once our pumpkin spice blend is made, let’s use it in many other recipes besides pumpkin pie!
DIY Pumpkin Spice Blend
Why should we make our own spice blend?
First, and most important, just like making your own pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread or pumpkin hummus (what, you’ve never had pumpkin hummus?), you know exactly what’s in it. And I like that!
The second reason to make your own spice blend, is because it’s way more cost affective.
Pumpkin spice blend is made from spices we often buy for other recipes and sit idle, in the pantry the rest of the year.
Preparing Whole Spices
If you happen to be really nutty about ‘make your own’ stuff, like I am, you can take this a step further; toast and grind whole nutmeg, cinnamon or cloves into powder.
Grind your own nutmeg? Why not!
Those little nutmeg nuts are just sitting on your rack year after year waiting for a little shave on top of your ‘occasional’ Creme Brûlée.
Or those cinnamon sticks?
Did you simply buy them to stir a winter cocktail, or for for holiday crafting?
- Toss those sticks into a grinder and inhale!
- Cardamom pods; grind and sift them.
- Allspice berries; grind and sift them.
- White pepper, cloves you name it. Or, leave out any of the spices you like least and add more of the spices you love.
Homemade Pumpkin Pie
From mid October until the end of December we are all baking or buying pumpkin pies.
Can’t get enough! Not to sound arrogant, but truly, My Pumpkin Pies are the best!
Why? Several reasons.
One, of course, I make them with my Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix, both in the crust and the pumpkin custard.
Two, I roast my own farm fresh pumpkins and make several mini pies with it, freeze what ever pumpkin remains for other pumpkin recipes.
Three, and this is the best of all; when I roll out my Homemade Spiced Pie Crust, I save the scraps to make a cookie to bake on top of the pie.
Talk about a decadent dessert! You really must try them, they are spectacular!
Have you forgotten summer yet? I have and I adore summer.
Let’s make something amazing together for Autumn and the holiday season that is just around the corner.
Great Pumpkin Recipes Start With Richly Blended Pumpkin Spice
For as long as my blog has been alive (since 2015), I realize that each season, I add more seasonal recipes to it.
Over the past years, these are just a few of the newest additions to my passion for ‘all things pumpkin.’
- Pumpkin Seed Date Cake – Caramelized pumpkin seeds, pumpkin seed oil, the sweetness of dates and the rustic texture that farina brings to this cake, makes it an autumn celebration must have.
- Quick Maple Pumpkin Bread – Quick Maple Pumpkin Bread – Winning Recipe On PBS, with all the spice flavors of Autumn, in loaf or individual muffins, for your pumpkin passions.
- Keto Pumpkin Bread – Keto Chocolate Pumpkin Bread, a vitamin rich pumpkin bread with almond flour and drizzled with stevia infused chocolate.
Ingredients Needed
- Cinnamon – Simply organic Ceylon ground cinnamon has a rich warm flavor that lasts.
- Ginger – ground ginger root that compliments both sweet and savory dishes.
- Allspice – Organic ground allspice with exceptional and intense flavor.
- Cloves – Organic ground cloves, kosher, pungent warm aroma.
- Cardamom – Certified organic and kosher, aromatic, subtly spicy-sweet flavor.
- Nutmeg – Pure ground nutmeg with subtly spicy-sweet flavor.
- White pepper – Organic white pepper powder.
- Cayenne pepper – Pure, organic cayenne pepper powder.
Equipment Needed
- Measuring spoons
- Airtight Container or glass jar – 4 oz glass Mason jars.
Homemade Pumpkin Spice Blend
Equipment
- Spice jar
Ingredients
- 2 tsp Cinnamon
- 2 tsp Ginger
- 1/2 tsp Allspice
- 1/4 tsp Cloves
- 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp Cardamom
- pinch White Pepper
- pinch Cayenne Pepper
Instructions
- Measure the spices into an airtight jar. Shake it up and you have the perfect pumpkin spice mix.
- Orange rinds are best left to zest fresh when using your homemade pumpkin spice mix, as is grated fresh ginger.
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I believe the table... that place that draws people to gather, is the most powerful symbol of togetherness. All that happens before the table is set, the planning, the gathering, the preparing, are all an intricate part of the dance that create the mood of celebration to share with friends and loved ones.