Ok, mamas, I have a confession:
My name is Sherri and I don’t like Pumpkin Spice Lattes.
There. I’ve said it. I feel so liberated!
I know, there’s like, me and one other person who wasn’t lined up on September 8th to get their first PSL fix, but I’m a plain-old latte or coffee kind of girl. The cloyingly sweet-spice flavor of the PSL makes me feel like I’m guzzling a Yankee Candle instead of getting my caffeine fix.
Now, lest you think I’m just an Autumn Scrooge, I have to also say that I love pumpkin in most anything other than my coffee. Pumpkin milkshakes from Whitey’s? Where they put pumpkin puree in the shake? Shut. Up. Giant pumpkin pies from Costco? I’ll take two! Ok, just one because my fridge isn’t big enough, but you get the picture.
So, for anyone out there who also strongly dislikes PSL, you have a safe space here. It’s ok to like other pumpkin treats. I’ll even share a few of my favorites here.
One is good for you and one is definitely not. We will get through this together.
While all the other moms in the drop-off line are jonesin’ for their PSL, you can calmly idle in the slow lane because you’ve already had your pumpkin fix with this delicious and mostly good for you Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Granola from one of my favorite bloggers, Iowa Girl Eats. She posted this yesterday and I raced home, made a batch, and left it out to cool and get nice and crispy. My daughter and I had it for breakfast and I chased it with a cup of plain, unflavored coffee. It was a hit with young and old alike! It’s just the right amount of pumpkin flavor with all the usual suspects–nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves–to round out the “spice” part of its name. And with quinoa, oats, flax, and coconut oil, you can throw in an extra handful of chocolate chips without feeling too guilty. (Side note: I left out the pecans so I could give it to my nut-free kiddo, and it was still delicious!)
Remember that healthy pumpkin spice granola recipe I just shared with you? This next one is the opposite of that. It has re-purposed cake mix and butter. And pumpkin. The moms over at Our Best Bites included this gem in their second cookbook, so it’s not on their blog. I’m sharing it with you here today because, safe space and all. Serve this one with, wait for it, a dollop of whipped cream and a cup of strong, black coffee.
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Ingredients
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- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Ignore directions on the cake box mix and place mix in a medium mixing bowl and add 1/2 c. butter. Use your hands to combine the mixture until it looks like dry crumbs. Place half the mixture (about 1 3/4 c.) in an 8x8 inch pan and press into a flat, even layer. Reserve remaining crumbs for later. Combine pumpkin, eggs, sweetened condensed milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and salt in a separate bowl. Whisk until well combined. Pour pumpkin mixture over crumb layer in pan. Add pecans to reserved crumb mixture and sprinkle on top. Melt remaining 4 T. butter and drizzle over crumb topping. Bake 35-45 min. or until top is golden and a knife or skewer inserted in center comes out clean. Top with fresh whipped cream.
I hope you like these pumpkin treats as much as I do and that they help you cope with all the PSL-inspired selfies you’re seeing on your Facebook feed.
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