A Kid Friendly Pumpkin Cider “Latte”

Stacy texted me while out and about on a dreary and cold Sunday afternoon, “Can we make the pumpkin latte at family & the foodie? <3.” Well we could make it, if we had chai tea. But lately we’ve been preferring coffee so I don’t think this recipe was what she thought it was. Later while chatting about how we could adapt Tara’s recipe to our goal, Cole declared he had a recipe solution.  A “Pumpkin Hot Chocolate” he said.  “Two tablespoons pumpkin, 1 cup cinnamon and 2 1/2 teaspoons coconut milk and apple cider.” It was his idea to cook pumpkin with cinnamon and apple juice. We adjusted the amounts a little bit, a good opportunity to talk about measurements, but this recipe is all Cole’s genius idea. Turns out, (as if we didn’t already know it) Cole is a chef in the making. After a little tweaking, we had a great recipe.

Kid Friendly Quick and Easy Pumpkin Spice Latte
dairy-free

Ingredients
1 C pumpkin puree (we use Elana’s Pantry instructions)
1 C pure apple juice (use apple cider if you can’t find unpasteurized apple juice)
1 C light canned or the boxed drinking kind of coconut milk
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Instructions

1. ♥ In a medium saucepan, whisk together the pumpkin, juice and milk over medium heat
2. ♥ Simmer until it just begins to boil while constantly stirring, about 10 minutes
3. ♥ Whisk in cinnamon and nutmeg until combined and remove from heat
   If you have cinnamon sticks, add the stick early on instead of the ground cinnamon and let simmer for 20 minutes – we’re just not that patient!
4. ♥ If you have a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth, strain

Serves 4 – serve hot or cold. Finian prefers iced with a straw and Cole loves blowing on the hot cider and letting it warm his hands after playing outside in cool weather. For adults, add coffee in equal portions to the Pumpkin Cider for a pumpkin spice latte taste! Let your kids help with the steps marked with a heart (♥).

The kids loved it! They got their very own “latte” that they drank themselves while the adults got to pretend they were going to a Paleo Starbucks for a short while.

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