Homemade pumpkin pie spice mix recipe

It’s pumpkin season again, so get ready for some recipes featuring this tasty and slightly sweet vegetable. I love all things pumpkin. Today I am sharing a recipe for pumpkin spice, so not the actual pumpkin itself. I love pumpkin pie spice and it instantly gets me in the mood for all things autumn. This homemade pumpkin pie spice mix can be used for lots of different recipes. Think pumpkin spice latte, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies and so much more!

Homemade pumpkin pie spice mix

Pumpkin spice is a blend of spices that is widely used in America for many different recipes; a good example would be for an easy pumpkin pie. It is somewhat similar to the Dutch speculaas kruiden, but has some subtle differences. For a homemade pumpkin spice blend you don’t need as much individual spices as you do with speculaas kruiden, so that is a bonus.

I made a whole jar and after combining the ingredients I thought I had made way too much, but I have already used it in several bakes and I think it is just enough for this fall and winter. Because gosh, how delicious it is in recipes! It totally gives me that autumn feeling. I love making my own spice blends as it is not only super easy to do but it also is a cheaper way to use ground spices. Now since recent years you can buy ready made pumpkin spice mix in the grocery store in the Netherlands, but I still love making my own and storing it in my spice cabinet.

What do you need for making the homemade pumpkin spice mix

Now the good news with this mix is that you can easily adjust it to your own preference. I use pretty basic spices that most people will have at home. The blend I used for my spice jar is pretty straightforward but you can make your own blend by changing the mix. It all comes down to personal preference. You can find the full recipe in the recipe card below.

• cinnamon – this is the main ingredient for the homemade spice blend
• ginger – ground ginger
• nutmeg – use ground nutmeg
• cloves
• ground allspice

It’s pretty similar to store-bought versions but if you want less cinnamon and more ginger for instance, that is totally up to you. You’re going to be using this a lot for pumpkin spice season so it’s also easy to double or triple the recipe as needed. For making it I simply add all spices to a small bowl and mix it. Job done. You can also add a little bit of black pepper if you like for some variation.

I like to store my pumpkin spice mix in an airtight container.

Tips for making pumpkin spice

Now as you can see by looking at the recipe, it is super simple. But it is important to make sure to check the expiration date on the ground spices you’re using. If the spices are too old they loose their flavor and you’ll be left with a less than perfect mix. You can store your own spice mixes for a very long time but make sure to note the date you made it on the container. And keep the spices in a cool and dark place. I always put it to good use so I hardly have anything left over.

Pumpkin spice recipes

Do you, like me, get excited about the flavors of fall? Or are you thinking, what is this woman talking about 😉. You will soon find a lot more recipes using this pumpkin pie spice mix but the good news is that you can also use it for the below (Dutch) recipes. Replacing speculaas kruiden with pumpkin pie spice mix is usually no problem at all:

• Gevulde speculaas (almond paste filled spiced cookie bars)
• Pepernoten (mini spiced cookies)
• Speculaasbrokken (cookie chunks)