Recently I received a sweet package from Allrecipes filled with SPLENDA® along with a fun assignment, apple vs. pumpkin, which is your favorite? They are going to have me decide which is better? Really? How am I going to decide? I love them both! This was a challenge I was ready to take on. Bring on the pumpkin pie, cookies, turnovers, muffins and more. For fun I threw in a DIY Pumpkin Spice Latte that my husband thought was better than Starbucks.
I am a fan of SPLENDA® and have used it since 2003. At that time I was pregnant with my third son and had gestational diabetes. It was my second time with gestational diabetes but not my last, I had a tough go with gestational diabetes in my 4th and last pregnancy as well. Having gestational diabetes 3 times has placed me at a higher risk for developing type 2 diabetes so I need to watch what I eat and exercise so I do what I can. I run, lift weights and watch what I eat and not just as it is going into my mouth. SPLENDA® has become a regular part of my diet as I often use SPLENDA® in recipes in place of sugar. You can use it in everything from sweetening your coffee or tea to baking. So…I was needed to use it to help decide what fall flavor I liked best, no problemo I can do that!
First up we had team Apple! Sweet and Tart apples how do I love thee! Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, Gala and your friends are all welcome in my home! You will always find some in my crisper drawer.
and finally…
Apple Cookies
All three of the apple recipes were pretty good. I did tweak the recipes a smidge though. For both the apple muffins and cookies I left out the raisins. We are just not big fans of raisins in our baked goods. The cookies in my opinion could have been made better if the apple was shredded like in the cookies. The apple chunks turned off 3 of my 4 kids. They still ate the cookies. They just picked out the apples. The turnovers were wonderful! I did up the cinnamon to a full teaspoon and found it to be perfect for us. The only way to make that apple recipe even better was to use homemade pie crust.
Team apple was definitely tasty but pumpkin was up next. Oh sweet pumpkin who visits us in the fall. Sweet pumpkin that I hoard cans of in my pantry just in case I decide I need a pumpkin fix during spring or summer.
Pumpkin Waffles
Harvest Pumpkin Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
and finally a better than Starbucks a DIY Quick Pumpkin Spice Latte
Oh dear apple I hate to break the news to you but I am most definitely a team pumpkin girl as are 3 of my 4 children and my husband. Only my second son voted apple as his favorite. The pumpkin waffles were yum and I made no changes at all. The pumpkin cookies were perfect and instead of raisins and walnuts I mixed in dried cranberries and white chocolate chips into a batch and I was in heaven. It is a great little cookie. The pumpkin pie was pretty good too. It was a tad sweet for us and missing the spices we usually use. I will be making it again with my own crust and some nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Then there is that Pumpkin Spice latte. I don’t drink coffee but my husband does and he likes Starbucks. Sadly where we currently live we no longer have the overabundance of Starbucks so it is much easier to make and take our own drinks. This drink was a happy surprise for my husband.
Now all these pumpkin treats that you will be baking come fall don’t always use the full can of pumpkin. So what are you suppose to do with that little bit that is left over? Throw it away? No way! Use it for a DIY Pumpkin Spice Latte.
You only need 1 Tablespoon of pumpkin.
Place the pumpkin in a saucepan along with 1 tablespoon of sugar or you can do like I did and use SPLENDA®. Whisk in 1/2 cup of milk and 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice. If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice you can use equal parts of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and allspice. I like a dash of cloves as well.
You bring this to a simmer for 5 minutes and then whisk in another 1/2 cup of milk.
Now this next step is important. Take a fine sieve and stain the milk mixture into a mug. At this point I also rinse out my sauce pan.
This will take a little time to get this. Be patient it is worth it.
Or you could drink this. It is up to you.
Now return your strained milk back to your saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add your coffee or espresso and whisk until frothy.
Then serve! Top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon if desired and enjoy!
from Allrecipes.com
- 1 cup milk, divided
- 1 tablespoon white sugar or SPLENDA® (or more to taste)
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup brewed espresso (or strong coffee)
Directions
2. Pour milk mixture through a fine-mesh sieve to remove pulp. Return milk mixture to saucepan and simmer, whisking, 2 minutes. Add espresso and whisk until foamy, 1 minute.
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