Warm Up Your Morning Coffee Routine | Pumpkin Spice Syrup & Vanilla Bean Syrup
Now that warm sunny days are officially being taken over by brisk cool ones, I sometimes feel like I need a little bit more of a reason to get up in the morning. (Not that Lucia gives me much choice, but still.) I was never a true coffee drinker. In fact, my mom (who drinks a few cups each morning) always says that I only drank frou-frou, fancy coffee drinks. It was true. I only drank coffee when I went to a coffee shop and it was usually some sort of flavored latte. Since Lucia was born, I have begun to heavily rely on some sort of caffeine in the morning. I usually drink a cold espresso beverage but now that it is getting cooler again I have started having hot lattes in the morning.
These two syrup recipes will really bring your coffee to another level on those cold mornings. As I mentioned, I like to have lattes in the morning so I add about a Tablespoon or 2 of one syrup or the other to my milk before I steam it. If you drink drip coffee, try adding some to taste. The pumpkin spice syrup is delicious over pancakes, waffles, or vanilla ice cream!
Pumpkin Spice Syrup
2 Cups of Water
2 Cups of Sugar
1/3 Cup of Pumpkin Puree
2 teaspoons of Pumpkin Pie Spice
2 Cinnamon Sticks
In a medium pot over medium heat, bring the sugar and water to a simmer.
Once the sugar is disolved, add the pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon sticks to the pot. Let simmer for 5 minutes until the syrup has reduced, whisking occasionally. Take the syrup off the heat and let sit for 5 minutes.
Strain through a fine mesh sieve two times and store in an air-tight container in the fridge.
Vanilla Bean Syrup
2 Cups of Water
2 Cups of Sugar
1 Whole Vanilla Bean Pod
Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise.
Scrape the beans from the inside with the side of a knife.
Add the water, sugar, and vanilla beans plus the pod into a medium pot and bring to a simmer. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Store in an air-tight container. (Does not need to be refridgerated)
