October might be pumpkin month, but pumpkin spice season lasts straight through the end of the year for me. I am an unapologetic fan of all things pumpkin, and this slow cooker pumpkin spice latte is going to make you a fan, too.
As the weather gets cooler and holidays are approaching, you need an easy, go-to drink to entertain family and friends. Making a large pot of coffee is fine, but if you want to wow your guests – or your kids – make them this delicious slow cooker treat.
At this time of year, I stock up on a few pantry essentials that I know I will use with all of our holiday baking and entertaining. I buy a lot of cans of sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk – two completely different things! I also stock up on cans of pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie, nuts and chocolate. For this recipe, I was so happy that I had already started stocking up on evaporated milk. We get our milk delivered every Tuesday so, if Monday comes around and we are out of milk, we all need to make do.
Making Coffee in a Chemex
Unfortunately, that applied to my dreams of this slow cooker pumpkin spice latte! No milk! I grabbed a few cans of evaporated milk and hoped for the best and the substitution worked great. If you have fresh milk on hand, by all means, use it. But, if not, bust out that evaporated milk taking up space on your shelves.
This slow cooker pumpkin spice latte will not take very long to put together. Keep it on low, and it can be enjoyed all morning – by kids and adults.
Some PSL recipe tips … I love to keep Demerara sugar on hand for coffee because it has such a deeper flavor, but, if you don’t have any, white sugar will work! The dairy component of this recipe is very flexible! I find that 2% milk works best but any combination of milk and half and half or milk and heavy cream could work just as well. If you want to make a dairy-free version, substitute your almond or coconut milk in for regular milk. Also… this should go without saying but, if you are making this for kids, probably opt for decaf coffee. I feel like holiday festivities plus kids on a caffeine high might be disastrous.
Slow Cooker Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe
2 cans evaporated milk and 1 cup refrigerated milk
OR 5 cups of refrigerated milk (you can use milk and half and half)
4 cups strong coffee (for kids – use decaf!)
½ can pumpkin puree
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
6 teaspoons Demerara sugar (or white sugar)
2 -3 cinnamon sticks
Whisk together all the ingredients in your slow cooker. Heat on high for one hour and then turn to low. Taste test to make sure that the flavor is what you are looking for.
Serve with whipped cream and cinnamon. Test this recipe out and let me know if it is a hit!
