It’s October and everything’s coming up pumpkin! Quick post here for an easy homemade pumpkin pie spice blend that you can use all year long to give that warm spice feeling to everything from smoothies, coffees, sweetbreads, homemade granola, oatmeal, muffins, roasted squash/pumpkin or sweet potatoes, pumpkin seeds and, of course, pumpkin pie!
Why spend the money on a specialty spice that you will leave in the cupboard – probably losing it in the back – when you can make just the right amount to use each up in a season? Plus, you can customize it a bit if you like. Want it to be more cinnamony (love making up words!)? Increase the cinnamon. Not a fan of nutmeg? Leave it out. Don’t have cardamom on hand? Skip it. You get the picture. But I must say, I like it just the way it is! The cardamom, which is nicely aromatic with a spicy, herbal, citrusy character, really brightens up this very warm spice blend. But, in the end, this is YOUR spice blend so have fun with it!
I like to use whole spices whenever I can so as to make the blend more fresh and flavorful. I had whole nutmeg and cloves, so I ground those in my spice grinder (just a small Krups coffee grinder I use only for spices) just before adding. Normally, I would also grind the cinnamon and cardamom, but I didn’t have any cinnamon sticks on hand at the time, and I had ground cardamom that needed to be used. Of course, you can use all pre-ground spices if you like.
This recipe makes just shy of 1/2 cup or about 7 tablespoons. Feel free to cut it in half if you don’t think you will use all of it.
Make sure to let me know if you make it and how you like it in the comments below!
Pumpkin Spice
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp cinnamon, ground
- 1 tbsp ginger, ground
- 1 tbsp allspice, ground
- 2 teaspoons nutmeg, ground
- 2 teaspoons cloves, ground
- 1 teaspoon cardamom, ground
Instructions
- Grind any whole spices to approximate amount needed.
- Measure out all ground spices into a small bowl, whisk thoroughly to combine.
- Store in an air tight container.
