Our Pumpkin Spice Syrup Recipe Brings Fall Flavors Into Your Kitchen

As soon as summer starts to wind down, pumpkin season takes over and shows up in every way possible. From hot cozy drinks to baked goods, pumpkin finds its way into everything, and we're not mad about it. Fall is here, and we're all in. This pumpkin spice syrup is perfect for bringing fall flavors into your kitchen in a variety of different ways. With just a few core ingredients and a handful of spices, you can create a knock-off version of the fancy syrups you might have thought were too hard to make. The brown sugar adds deep caramelized notes to the base of the syrup, and paired with pumpkin puree and warm spices, the mixture transforms into a silky smooth syrup that's just perfect on your next batch of waffles or your homemade latte.

Recipe developer Miriam Hahn brings us this recipe and says, "I find that most store-bought syrups have artificial ingredients and can taste overly sweet. This recipe uses clean ingredients, most of which you may already have in your pantry. I'm using a vanilla bean for a deeper vanilla flavor, and once you have vanilla beans on hand, you just might think of them as a new staple in your kitchen."

To make this recipe, start by picking up a can of pumpkin puree. You will only be using a portion of the can, but having leftover puree is handy if you want to make some delicious pumpkin muffins. Pick up some fresh ginger root, then check your baking cabinet for a vanilla bean, brown sugar, a cinnamon stick, allspice, ground cloves, nutmeg, and salt.

Remove the vanilla bean seeds from the pod.

Add the sugar to a small pot and bring the heat to medium.

Stir for 2-3 minutes as it's cooking. It will darken and begin to melt.

Add ¾ cup of water and use a whisk to stir for 3 more minutes until smooth.

Add the pumpkin puree, cinnamon stick, ginger, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, vanilla bean seeds and pod, and salt.

Bring to a low simmer and let it cook for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced and syrupy, then remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.

Strain the syrup to remove the ginger and cinnamon stick.

Pour the strained syrup into a jar or bottle and serve or store.

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There are a few tips and tricks to making sure the pumpkin syrup comes out as planned. If you haven't cooked with a vanilla bean before, it might seem a little tricky to work with this precious ingredient, but it's actually pretty simple. Just make sure to lay the pod on a flat cutting board and use a sharp knife to cut it lengthwise. The pod and the seeds are the same color, so it can be hard to see the seeds. The seeds are very small and sticky, and really are more of a thick paste. The pod itself has a strong vanilla flavor, so you can use it in other ways, like by simmering it with milk or cream to create a vanilla creamer for your coffee or a base for ice cream or custard.

In step 2, when you add the sugar to a pot, wait until the sugar has started to melt before going on to the next step. If your pot is not fully heated when you add the sugar, you may need more time to see melting. Once you have added all of the ingredients to the pot, you'll need to simmer them together for at least 10-12 minutes. This is where some of the liquid will burn off, and the syrup will thicken. Wait for it to coat a spoon when dipped in before straining it.

If you're short on time or feel like making a few swaps, this simple recipe is very open to adaptation. Firstly, you can swap coconut sugar in for the brown sugar, which will add more of a caramel taste. If you prefer, you can also start with a base of maple syrup instead of sugar. To do this, reduce the amount of water to ¼ cup because the maple syrup doesn't need to melt and will add more liquid to the final product. 

If you want to make your own pumpkin puree, pick up a sugar pumpkin (aka pie pumpkin) and roast it until it's soft, then remove the flesh from the skin and blend it into a silky puree. Instead of using individual spices and ginger root, you can use a pre-made pumpkin pie spice, which conveniently has all of those flavors pre-blended. You'll want to use 1 ½ to 2 teaspoons of the pre-made blend. Though we recommend using a vanilla bean because it will intensify the vanilla flavor, if you have vanilla extract and want to keep things simple, use 1 teaspoon of that in the syrup instead.

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