Pumpkin Pie Spice

It doesn’t get any easier than this. Pumpkin pie spice in less than 5 minutes? Fantastic. It’s a touch spicy, but I enjoy it that way. Those who do not may wish to adjust the amount of cloves or ginger, decreasing the amount of either or both by half.

I used this for every recipe I made calling for pumpkin pie spice this past week, and it was delightful in each dish, bringing the fantastic fall spice flavor with depth to everything.

Great idea! Making a small, fresh batch of pumpkin pie spice as you need it is always going to be better than keeping a jar of store-bought spices of indeterminate age sitting in your pantry. I used a combination of three cinnamons or cassia—Korintje (Cinnamomum Burmannii), Vietnamese (Cinnamomum Loureiroi) and Ceylon (Cinnamomum Zeylanicum)—along with freshly ground allspice and freshly ground nutmeg. The ginger and cloves were already ground.

Since I was grinding and then remeasuring, it took me a little more time—maybe about 10 to 15 minutes—but I now have a nice batch of freshly ground pumpkin pie spice, and I can try it in several recipes and see where it works as-is. My gut instinct was to add more ginger right off the bat, but it really is well-balanced as written, so I’m holding off.

One type of cinnamon or cassia would be fine, but I like the complexity of the combination. The nutmeg is a light presence and fluffy since it was freshly ground. Because the freshly ground nutmeg is so fluffy, 2 teaspoons nutmeg weighs much less than 2 teaspoons ginger or allspice. I used a Microplane to grate it and a hand-held spice grinder for the allspice.

Here’s a quick and easy DIY to add to your repertoire. I now have a little batch of homemade pumpkin pie spice ready and waiting for my next autumn baking adventure—and it’s made with my favorite cinnamon, something I’d never get by buying premade pumpkin pie spice. The next time around, I’ll customize it even further, reducing the amount of nutmeg just a bit, which always tends to overpower other flavors for my palate.

This would also make a great gift if packaged in a lovely airtight tin or spice jar. (Who wouldn’t appreciate a gift that provides an excuse to head back into the kitchen after the long summer and proceed with some delicious fall baking?!) It’s especially nice that, unlike some more arduous DIY projects, this takes about 5 minutes from start to finish, whether making up a batch for yourself or as a gift.

This is great. I love the convenience of pumpkin pie spice during the holidays—you don’t have to think about it, and you don’t have to get out a lot of bottles. In fact, sometimes when I make a new recipe that calls for a long list of spices that are related, I calculate the amount needed, and I just use that amount of pumpkin pie spice.

So I’m very happy with this recipe. It was easy and turned out well. I may give little jars of it away for Christmas (along with a plate of pumpkin spice cookies, of course).

Why buy another jar of pumpkin pie spice when you can mix this one up from spices already in your cupboard? I’ve used this blend in at least 5 different recipes since mixing it up last weekend (fall is here!) and found it perfectly complemented each recipe.

The mix does make quite a bit—about the amount in a small spice jar from the grocery store—but I think you could easily cut it in half or to a third if you needed less.

Pumpkin pie spice is not something I use often, so this homemade version caught my eye. It uses spices I always have on hand, so I can mix this up as I need it. It mixes up very quickly and smells wonderful.

I’ve used it in a few recipes, and it tastes just like the store-bought stuff, but since I buy my spices in bulk, it costs much less than the store-bought spice.

This pumpkin pie spice mix is the easiest way to get the best out of your favorite fall dessert recipes—pumpkin and otherwise—that call for this spice. This magical blend lends a whisper of all those glorious flavors without overpowering everything upon which it lands.

Imagine your favorite pumpkin or apple dessert with a mystery ingredient that has everyone guess what makes it sweeter, a bit more flamboyant, a step up the excitement ladder, and just plain delicious. This would be that ingredient. And in chili? Go for it! With many commercial pumpkin pie spice mixtures, you’re either overwhelmed by the cinnamon or the cloves but not here. The ratio is perfect—assuming that you’re using your favorite and freshest spices.