Pumpkin Pie Spice

Can you smell it? Fall is in the air, and with it, the promise of pumpkin spice!

For the printable recipe click here.

Like it or love it, two words define the fall season more than any others: Pumpkin Spice.

But before you can dive into all those recipes for pumpkin spice lattes, classic pumpkin pie, and the myriad of crazy pumpkin desserts you've been eyeing online, you need to get your hands on the single most critical ingredient: a top-notch pumpkin-pie spice blend.

And yes, the spice blend is more critical to your pumpkin season cooking and fall baking than the pumpkin itself.

There are, of course, plenty of great options at the grocery store, but making your own pumpkin pie spice blend is easy-peasy and gives you the option of fine-tuning the blend to your preferences.

What goes into the optimal homemade pumpkin pie spice recipe?

This easy recipe calls for four simple spices you likely already have in your spice cabinet:

• cinnamon

• ginger

• cloves

• nutmeg

The amounts should descend in this order. For instance, my recipe is 6 tsp ground cinnamon, 4 tsp ground ginger, 3 tsp ground cloves, and 2 tsp ground nutmeg. Feel free to double or triple as needed. This perfect blend of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg is balanced, warming, cozy, and basically magic in all your favorite pumpkin recipes.

The grind

I typically use pre-ground cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg in this recipe, but I grind my own cloves.

Generally, my rule of thumb is to measure rounded (slightly heaping) teaspoons of the whole cloves, knowing that they will roughly equal an even teaspoon once ground. I grind the cloves to a semi-fine powder first, then add the remaining spices to the grinder and pulse several times to combine. Whether you have pre-ground or whole spices in your spice rack, you can use a re-purposed coffee grinder to do your mixing if desired. Whisking the ground spices together in a small bowl works perfectly as well.

Storage

I like to store my homemade pumpkin spice mix in an airtight container like a small jar with a tightly-fitting lid. Four-ounce mason jars or reusable glass spice containers work well. Go with whatever fits best in your spice drawer or cabinet. The spice blend can be stored at room temperature for quite a long time, but it's potency will diminish greatly after six months, especially if you use all pre-ground spices to begin with.

Whether pumpkin spice muffins, pumpkin bars, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, or delicious pumpkin spice biscuits are calling your name, now you are all set to put your very own fresh batch of pumpkin pie spice to good use in all your favorite recipes this time of year!

Here's what you'll need:

• 6 tsp ground cinnamon

• 4 tsp ground ginger

• 3 tsp ground cloves

• 2 tsp ground nutmeg

Here's what you'll do:

1. Combine all ingredients and store in an airtight container. That is all!

For the printable recipe click here.

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• Cajun Spice Mix

• Whole30 Granola

• Chili Powder

• Ranch Seasoning Mix

• Paleo Cookie Butter

• Paleo Pumpkin Spice Biscuits

• Pumpkin Spice Steak