My dear friend, Brenda, could put Martha Stewart to shame with her sweet treats! Recently she spoiled me with a container of homemade creamer so that I could make my own pumpkin-infused lattes. A delicious coffee treat for a crisp autumn morning!
Pumpkin Spiced Latte
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk (fat-free or regular)
- 14 oz milk (whole, low-fat, or fat-free)
- 6 Tablespoons canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 2 to 3 Tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- a pinch each of cinnamon and cloves, if desired
In a saucepan over medium-high heat, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, milk, pumpkin, and sugar until steaming. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and spices. To serve, pour into a large mug, stir in coffee. Garnish with whipped cream, if desired. (Author's Note: I like my coffee extra creamy but didn't want the pumpkin flavor to overpower the coffee, so I added a splash of plain half-and-half to my cup. It was PERFECT!)
Coffee Fun Facts
- The average American coffee drinker consumes 3.4 cups of coffee per day.
- More than 400 billion (yup, that's a "b") cups of coffee are drunk worldwide each year. As a world commodity, coffee is second only to oil.
- Hawaii is the only state in the US that can grow coffee.
- George Washington invented instant coffee ... not the president, but a Belgian man living in Guatemala named George Washington.
- Legend has it that coffee was discovered by Ethiopian shepherds who noticed their goats "dancing" after eating the berries.
- Althletes with more than 12 micrograms of caffeine per millileter of urine can be banned from participating in the Olympic Games because caffeine is one of the IOC's prohibited substances.
- Like diamonds, coffee beans are graded for quality but different countries grade them differently.
