How to make Pumpkin Pie Spice
- I ngredients
Equipment
S torage
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Pumpkin Pie Spice is a blend of warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg and a signature spice found in fall baked goods. Use this homemade spice blend to bake up a batch of my pumpkin spice muffins, classic pumpkin pie, or pumpkin bars. Making your own homemade blend allows you to easily adjust the amounts of the ingredients based on your individual tastes.

A Bite of History: McCormick’s created their original Pumpkin Spice Blend in 1934 with the original purpose to flavor pumpkin pie. Look around on shelves in early August and you’ll start to see everything “pumpkin spice” flavored foods ranging from baked goods to savory dips and cheese all the way to household items like body wash and candles. Of course the craze really took off around 2003 when Starbucks introduced the Pumpkin Spice Latte.

How to make Pumpkin Pie Spice

Ingredients

I prefer to purchase spices pre-ground in bulk. My favorite bulk spices are Frontier brand which you can order direct from them or find in bulk at natural food stores. They are typically more potent than the average spices on conventional grocery store shelves. When making Pumpkin Pie Spice, I start with a base of good quality cinnamon and then add in a bold blend of other traditional spices like ginger, nutmeg, clove and allspice.

Cinnamon comes from dried bark from the tropical Asian cinnamon tree and is available as whole cinnamon sticks or ground. There are two types: Cassia which has a warm, sweet flavor, and Ceylon known as “true cinnamon”, which has an intense spicy bite.
Ginger is a root from a plant grown in Southeast Asia. Ginger can be found in a variety of ways such as the dried or fresh root, ground, or crystallized (candied) pieces.
Nutmeg is a warm spice that comes from the nutmeg tree in the Spice Islands. It is available as whole nutmeg, grated or pre-ground.
Cloves are the dried flower buds from clove trees, grown in the Spice Islands. Whole cloves are used to infuse flavor into culinary dishes, while ground cloves add a warm, spicy kick to baked goods.
Allspice is made from dried berries from a plant that grows in a tropical climates found in Mexico and Central America. Allspice berries are found in dried, whole form or ground.

Equipment

Storage

Keep your mix in a small mason jar and store for up to one year.