My Fall Morning

I woke up this morning to rain. Chase and I were supposed to run, but who really wants to go for a run when the forecast is "heavy rain"? Not this girl. So we put off our run to this evening and I spent the morning making a long awaited pumpkin spice latte.

Homemade pumpkin spice latte? Not as good as Starbucks, but a heck of a lot cheaper. The nutrition came in pretty close to Starbucks for my 8-12 ounce drink when I factored in using skim milk. The problem is, I always forget to ask for skim when I order at Starbucks. I also did not use whipped cream since I didn't have any in the house, but I can rarely say no to the barista when she offers it, so I'm going to call this a healthy win.

I enjoyed my latte with some toast spread with Cinnamon Honey Butter. Yes, fall was good to me today.

Pumpkin Spice Latte
From TheKitchn
makes 1-2 servings

Ingredients
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons canned pumpkin
2 tablespoons sugar or sugar substitute - you can halve this amount
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1-2 shots espresso (about 1/4 cup of espresso or 1/2 cup of strong brewed coffee if you don't have an espresso machine.)

Directions:
In a saucepan combine milk, pumpkin and sugar and cook on medium heat, stirring, until steaming. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and spice, transfer to a blender and process for 15 seconds until foamy. If you don't have a blender, don't worry about it - just whisk the mixture really well with a wire whisk.
Pour into a large mug or two mugs. Add the espresso on top.
Optional: Top with whipped cream and sprinkle pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, or cinnamon on top.

Cinnamon Honey Butter
Adapted from Pacific Harvest Events

Ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 1/2 tablespoons honey

Directions:
In a mixer or by hand, cream the butter with the salt, cinnamon and honey until thoroughly mixed. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator.