It’s the Spiciest Time of the Year

Y’all…

It’s that time again.

The time when every pumpkin fears for its life.

It’s the dawning of the age of Pumpkin Spice Latte.

I won’t lie. I enjoy a PSL once in a while. In fact, there was a time I was all excited to see Coffeemate bring out their Pumpkin Spice flavor so I could have a fix of The Spice at home. But I am more into The Spice than I am into The Pumpkin. Unless it’s pie. Then I am all about that with a huge dollop of homemade whipped cream. But in a drink, it’s not as appealing to me. That said, I have lots of friends IRL and on the Interwebs that do love PSL. Love it so much they set aside time for Starbucks on the first day they serve it. For me, the attraction is in the Spice. I’m all Paul Atreides on that. But I found an additional way to enjoy Pumpkin Spice without the Latte.

That’s right. A chocolate shake with Bailey’s Pumpkin Spice. Bailey’s used to have the recipe up on their site, but alas, they took it down. Lucky for y’all, I found it again.

• 4 oz. Baileys Pumpkin Spice Irish Cream
• 2 cups Chocolate Ice Cream
• 2 oz. Whole Milk
• 1/4 cup Brown Sugar
• 1/4 cup Pumpkin Puree
• 1/4 tsp. of Pumpkin Spice Blend (Allspice)

Put everything in a blender and go to town (not literally). You can substitute vanilla ice cream for the chocolate (why you would want to do that is beyond my comprehension), the whole milk for reduced fat or skim, and make sure you get plain pumpkin puree, not pie filling. Otherwise the sweetness will be off the charts. Personally, I would cut back a little on the brown sugar, and that’s saying something. Either way, I believe this is a far better way to enjoy Pumpkin Spice than in a latte. Chocolate, spice, AND booze.

Now excuse me. I must go control The Spice 😉