DIY Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew

Nothing screams fall more than pumpkin spice! I don't know about you, but pumpkin cream cold brew has been my go-to drink since Starbucks relaunched it this fall. Now don't get me wrong, I love Starbucks, but I do not necessarily love the price. I love this drink so much that I drink almost one a day, which could add up fast at Starbucks, so I decided to play around with a recipe and make my own at home!

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To start out, you will need:

- Cold brew

- Vanilla extract

- Sweetener

- Pumpkin Puree (not pumpkin pie filling)

- Cream, milk, half and half (whatever you want to make your pumpkin foam with)

- Pumpkin Pie Spice

- Sea Salt

- Milk frother, steamer, etc.

I personally like to use the Starbucks Black Cold Brew Concentrate, but feel free to make your own or use whatever kind you like. Starbucks uses vanilla syrup, but vanilla extract gives it the same great flavor without the added sugars. Use whatever sweetener you like - I like to use a sugar substitute but you can also use whatever you prefer (sugar, honey, maple syrup, you name it!). Make sure you get 100% pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling. An easy way to check to make sure you have the right thing is to look at the ingredients - it should only say pumpkin. To create your foam base, you will need milk - skim milk actually froths up the best. What I like to use is cream with half and half, so it is more of a whipped pumpkin cream on the top of my drink. I have found this is most similar to what Starbucks puts on top of their drink. You can also use non-dairy products, although they will froth easier if they‘re a barista-blend. Pumpkin pie space makes all the difference with this drink! If you add just a dash of sea salt to your foam, it really brings out the sweet flavors! I personally have found handheld milk frother to work best for me, although you could also try a steam wand, traditional blender, french press, hand blender, or even shaking it up in a mason jar. After you have made this a few times and get the hang of it, you can just eyeball everything instead of measuring everything out. I personally just wing the recipe every time and estimate all of the ingredients instead of taking the time to measure it out - play with the recipe to see what you like. If you are having a hard time getting the pumpkin foam mixture to foam, you can leave out the pumpkin puree all together.

To start:

Make your cold brew. With the Starbucks Cold Brew, it is equal parts concentrate with water. make sure you pour over ice. You can add about 1/4 teaspoon or half-capful of vanilla extract and 1-3 teaspoons of your choice of sweetener to the cold brew. I personally do not add any sweetener to the cold brew itself. Set this aside as you make the pumpkin foam topping.

Pumpkin foam topping:

1/4 cup milk, cream, half-and-half, oat milk - whatever you choose as your base

1/2 teaspoon preferred sweetener

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin puree

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (plus more for garnish at the end)

a dash of fine sea salt

Mix all of the ingredients in a cup and use a milk frother to froth the milk, until it reaches a tight whipped-cream-like foamy consistency. Spoon the pumpkin foam on top of the iced cold brew and garnish with a pinch of pumpkin pie spice. Enjoy your beautiful creation!

Here is what my first attempt looked like. I would say a success!

After making a few of these, I always had one problem: I got a terrible pumpkin foam mustache! Thankfully with a little searching on Amazon, I found cups similar to the ones Starbucks uses with the strawless lids. They were a game changer. I will link them here along with everything you will need to create the perfect pumpkin cream cold brew at home. Click on each picture to be taken to a link to purchase these items.