How Pumpkin Spice Went From Pie to Pop

Every year, it happens.

The temperature outside might still say summer, but somewhere a coffee shop quietly adds a pumpkin drink to the menu.

Then another does it.

Before long, pumpkin spice is everywhere.

Coffee. Cookies. Doughnuts. Cereal. Creamer. Candles. Soap.

At this point, the arrival of pumpkin spice has become as reliable a seasonal marker as the first changing leaves.

Some people eagerly await it. Others joke that it arrives earlier every year.

Either way, it’s hard to ignore.

How did a handful of spices traditionally associated with pie become a full-fledged pop-culture phenomenon?

The answer begins with a simple distinction.

Pumpkin Spice Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Pumpkin

Despite the name, pumpkin spice isn’t pumpkin.

It’s a mixture of warming spices commonly associated with pumpkin pie. Recipes vary, but cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves are among the usual suspects.

For generations, home cooks have reached for these spices when preparing pumpkin desserts.

Eventually, companies began selling the spices together as convenient blends for bakers.

But something interesting happened over time.

The flavor combination became so familiar that we stopped associating it only with pumpkin pie.

We began associating it with fall itself.

Then Came the Pumpkin Spice Latte

Coffee helped propel pumpkin spice into another category entirely.

Starbucks introduced its Pumpkin Spice Latte in 2003. The seasonal drink combined coffee with the warm flavor profile consumers already associated with pumpkin desserts and autumn.

It became enormously popular.

Other coffee shops developed their own versions. Pumpkin-flavored beverages appeared on menus across the country. Food companies embraced the trend, and pumpkin spice began appearing in an increasingly imaginative range of products.

Then social media added another ingredient: humor.

Pumpkin spice became a meme.

People joked about being obsessed with it. Other people joked about the people who were obsessed with it. Every year brought debates over whether August was too early to start drinking it.

In other words, pumpkin spice stopped being merely a flavor.

It became part of the culture of fall.

Why Seasonal Flavors Are So Powerful

Part of pumpkin spice’s appeal may have less to do with pumpkin than with what the flavor represents.

Cinnamon and nutmeg can remind us of baking. Pumpkin can bring to mind Halloween and Thanksgiving. A hot drink feels especially comforting when temperatures begin to fall.

Put them together, and you aren’t just selling coffee.

You’re selling the feeling of autumn.

The fact that these products are seasonal adds to the appeal. We know they’ll disappear again, which makes their return feel like an event.

Of course, there’s no reason you need to wait in line at a coffee shop to celebrate pumpkin season.

You can make the experience at home—and add cookies.

Ingredients

Tick items off as you cook.

• 2 cupsmilk
• 2 Tbsppumpkin puree
• 1–2 Tbspmaple syrup or granulated sugar, to taste
• ½ tspground cinnamon
• ⅛ tspground ginger
• Pinch of ground nutmeg
• Pinch of ground cloves
• 1 tspvanilla extract
• ½ cupvery strong brewed coffee or 2 shots of espresso
• Whipped cream, optional

Method

Tap a step’s number when it’s done.

1. Add the milk, pumpkin puree, maple syrup or sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves to a small saucepan.

2. Warm over medium heat, whisking frequently. Heat until steaming, but don’t allow the milk to boil.

3. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

4. For a frothier drink, carefully whisk the milk vigorously or use a handheld milk frother.

5. Divide the coffee or espresso between two mugs.

6. Pour the pumpkin-spiced milk over the coffee.

7. Top with whipped cream and an additional sprinkle of cinnamon, if desired.

Cook’s notes

AMAC Kitchen · amac.us/recipes/pumpkin-spice-everything-how-a-pie-spice-became-a-pop-culture-phenomenon

Ingredients

Tick items off as you cook.

• 1 scoophigh-quality vanilla protein powder of choice
• 1 cupunsweetened almond milk(or milk of choice)
• ½ cupcanned pumpkin puree(not pie filling)
• 1 Tbspalmond butter
• ½medium banana, preferably frozen
• ½ tsppumpkin pie spice
• ¼ tspground cinnamon
• ½–1 cupice, to desired thickness

Method

Tap a step’s number when it’s done.

1. Add all ingredients to a high-speed blender.

2. Blend until smooth and creamy, about 30–60 seconds.

3. Adjust thickness with additional almond milk or ice, then pour into a glass and enjoy!

Cook’s notes

AMAC Kitchen · amac.us/recipes/pumpkin-spice-everything-how-a-pie-spice-became-a-pop-culture-phenomenon

Serving Suggestions: Add a splash of vanilla extract for extra flavor, or use more ice for a frosty, thicker smoothie.

(Nutrition will vary depending on the protein powder and other ingredients selected.)

Ingredients

Makes 24 cookies12 ingredients

Tick items off as you cook.

• 2 cupsall-purpose flour
• 1 tspbaking soda
• 1½ tspground cinnamon
• ½ tspground ginger
• ¼ tspground nutmeg
• ½ tspsalt
• ½ cupunsalted butter, softened
• ½ cuppacked brown sugar
• ½ cupgranulated sugar
• ¾ cuppumpkin puree
• 1 tspvanilla extract
• 1 cupsemisweet chocolate chips

Method

Tap a step’s number when it’s done.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt.

3. In a separate large bowl, beat the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until creamy.

4. Beat in the pumpkin puree and vanilla until combined.

5. Gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.

6. Fold in the chocolate chips.

7. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough approximately 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.

8. Bake for 10–13 minutes, until the cookies appear set around the edges.

9. Allow them to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.

Cook’s notes

AMAC Kitchen · amac.us/recipes/pumpkin-spice-everything-how-a-pie-spice-became-a-pop-culture-phenomenon

Why Are Pumpkin Cookies So Soft?

Pumpkin puree contains quite a bit of moisture. Adding it to cookie dough tends to create a softer, more cake-like texture than you would expect from a traditional chocolate chip cookie.

That’s part of their charm.

Pair one with a homemade latte, and you’ve essentially created your own pumpkin-season coffee shop.

The remarkable part isn’t that we enjoy cinnamon and nutmeg.

It’s that we’ve collectively decided they taste like a season.

Maybe that’s why pumpkin spice inspires such strong opinions.

For some people, it’s just a latte.

For others, it’s the unofficial announcement that fall has begun.

Keep reading

Up nextThe Great Pumpkin: Pumpkin Pancakes, Jack-o’-Lanterns and a Halloween IconFrom AMAC Kitchen ·Recipe ·BreakfastRead it now

More from AMAC Kitchen

• Pumpkin Season Is Here: Pumpkin Bread and the Story Behind Fall’s Favorite FlavorRecipe · Dessert
• Caramel Apples: The Sweet Taste of an American FallRecipe · Dessert
• Kitchen

  Recipes members will actually cook, and the stories behind them.

  Back to AMAC Kitchen