Pumpkin Butternut Spice Recipes: 10 Ways to Use Pumpkin Spice Syrup - Legendary Aviation Coffee Company

Pumpkin Butternut Spice Recipes: 10 Ways to Use Pumpkin Spice Syrup

Pumpkin Butternut Spice is a 16 oz simple syrup made by Pink House Alchemy from cane sugar, water, pumpkin, butternut squash, and natural spices, sold only at Legendary Aviation Coffee Company. Here are ten measured ways to use it, from a latte to an espresso martini, plus cold brew, cold foam, chai, pancakes, icing, and muffins.

This page started with one drink. Josh mixed the Pumpkin Butternut Spice Espresso Martini first, and one recipe turned into ten. Every one below uses the same bottle and gives you the amount in ounces, so you can pour it with a jigger or a syrup pump and get the same cup every time.

Pumpkin Butternut Spice at a glance

Made by
Pink House Alchemy, small batch, handcrafted
Sold at
Legendary Aviation Coffee Company only
Ingredients
Cane sugar, water, pumpkin, butternut squash, natural spices
Bottle
16 oz (473 mL), about 21 lattes at 0.75 oz or 32 espresso martinis at 0.5 oz
Dose
0.5 to 0.75 oz per latte, iced latte, or cold brew; 0.5 oz in an espresso martini or cold foam; 0.75 oz in an old fashioned or chai
Season
Fall release, limited run

Get the bottle: Pumpkin Butternut Spice by Pink House Alchemy.

All ten recipes at a glance

Recipe Type Syrup Time
Pumpkin Butternut Spice Latte Coffee 0.5 to 0.75 oz 5 min
Iced Pumpkin Butternut Spice Latte Coffee 0.75 oz 5 min
Pumpkin Butternut Spice Cold Brew Coffee 0.5 to 0.75 oz 2 min
Pumpkin Butternut Spice Cold Foam Cold Foam 0.5 oz 5 min
Pumpkin Butternut Spice Chai Latte Tea 0.75 oz 8 min
Pumpkin Butternut Spice Espresso Martini Cocktails 0.5 oz 5 min
Pumpkin Butternut Spice Old Fashioned Cocktails 0.75 oz 5 min
Pumpkin Butternut Spice Pancakes Pancakes, Icing, and Baking 0.25 cup 25 min
Pumpkin Butternut Spice Cream Cheese Icing Pancakes, Icing, and Baking 3 to 4 tbsp 10 min
Pumpkin Butternut Spice Glazed Muffins Pancakes, Icing, and Baking 0.5 cup 40 min

Coffee

Start here. Half to three-quarters of an ounce of syrup on two shots of espresso, and it holds for hot, iced, and cold brew.

Recipe 01 of 10

Pumpkin Butternut Spice Latte

The cup most people picture when they say pumpkin spice, made with a syrup that has actual pumpkin and butternut squash in it. Half to three-quarters of an ounce is the whole job.

  • Syrup 0.5 to 0.75 oz
  • Makes 1 latte (10 to 12 oz)
  • Time 5 minutes
Pumpkin Butternut Spice Latte made with Pumpkin Butternut Spice syrup

Ingredients

  • 2 shots espresso
  • 0.5 to 0.75 oz Pumpkin Butternut Spice syrup
  • 6 to 8 oz steamed milk
  • Optional: whipped cream
  • Light cinnamon or nutmeg on top

Method

  1. Pull the two shots into a 10 to 12 oz mug.
  2. Add the syrup and stir so it dissolves while the espresso is hot.
  3. Steam the milk with a thin layer of foam and pour it over the espresso.
  4. Top with whipped cream if you want it, then a light dusting of cinnamon or nutmeg.

Tip: Drip-coffee version, the one on the product page: 1 oz syrup, 3 oz steamed milk, then 12 oz hot brewed coffee poured over the top. Bigger cup, same ratio, no machine.

Pour it with: Pull the shots from Whistling Corsair (Brazil, rich and full-bodied) or ALMIGHTY Huey (Guatemala, well rounded). Both carry the spice without getting lost under it.

Recipe 02 of 10

Iced Pumpkin Butternut Spice Latte

Espresso and syrup go together first, then over ice, then the milk. Building it in that order keeps the syrup from sinking to the bottom of the glass.

  • Syrup 0.75 oz
  • Makes 1 iced latte (16 oz)
  • Time 5 minutes
Iced Pumpkin Butternut Spice Latte made with Pumpkin Butternut Spice syrup

Ingredients

  • 2 shots espresso
  • 0.75 oz Pumpkin Butternut Spice syrup
  • 6 oz milk
  • Ice
  • Optional: cold foam or whipped cream
  • Cinnamon dust

Method

  1. Shake or stir the hot espresso and the syrup together until the syrup dissolves.
  2. Fill a 16 oz glass with ice and pour the espresso over it.
  3. Add the milk and watch it marble down. Stir before drinking, or don't.
  4. Top with cold foam or whipped cream if you want it, then a dust of cinnamon.

Tip: Shaking the espresso and syrup with a few cubes of ice for 10 seconds chills it fast and builds a light foam cap.

Pour it with: F-117 Nighthawk (Dominican Republic, sweet and smooth) pulls a shot that stays sweet over ice. Whistling Corsair works if you want more body.

Recipe 03 of 10

Pumpkin Butternut Spice Cold Brew

Cold brew is already smooth and low in acid, so the pumpkin and butternut read clearly. A splash of milk or cream and it is a finished drink in under a minute.

  • Syrup 0.5 to 0.75 oz
  • Makes 1 cold brew (12 to 16 oz)
  • Time 2 minutes
Pumpkin Butternut Spice Cold Brew made with Pumpkin Butternut Spice syrup

Ingredients

  • 6 oz cold brew
  • 0.5 to 0.75 oz Pumpkin Butternut Spice syrup
  • 1 to 2 oz milk or cream
  • Ice
  • Optional: pumpkin cold foam (recipe below)

Method

  1. Stir the syrup into the cold brew first so it dissolves fully.
  2. Pour over a 12 to 16 oz glass of ice.
  3. Add the milk or cream.
  4. For the premium version, skip the milk and float a layer of lightly sweetened cream foam on top.

Tip: Batch it: 24 oz cold brew and 2.5 oz syrup in a pitcher, refrigerated. Pour over ice and add cream all week.

Pour it with: Cold brew from Whistling Corsair is the base we reach for. Chocolate and body, no bite.

Cold Foam

The best thing you can do with this bottle and a handheld frother.

Recipe 04 of 10

Pumpkin Butternut Spice Cold Foam

Cold foam is where this syrup shows off. Fat carries the pumpkin and butternut forward, and the foam sits on cold brew like it was engineered to.

  • Syrup 0.5 oz
  • Makes Foam for 1 to 2 drinks
  • Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 0.5 oz Pumpkin Butternut Spice syrup
  • 2 oz heavy cream
  • 2 oz 2% milk (or 3 oz half-and-half in place of both)
  • Pinch of cinnamon
  • Cold brew over ice, for serving

Method

  1. Combine the syrup, cream, milk, and cinnamon in a small jar or the frothing pitcher.
  2. Froth with a handheld frother for 30 to 45 seconds, until it thickens to soft, pourable peaks. Stop before it turns to whipped cream.
  3. Pour cold brew over a full glass of ice, sweetened with syrup or not.
  4. Spoon or slowly pour the foam over the top. It floats. Drink it before it settles.

Tip: Half cream and half milk gives foam that holds a layer but still pours. All cream gets too thick; all milk collapses in a minute.

Use it on: The premium topper for the cold brew above. Makes enough foam for two drinks if you go light.

Tea

Pumpkin and butternut were built for black tea. This one is a flavor-led pairing from our own shelf.

Recipe 05 of 10

Pumpkin Butternut Spice Chai Latte

Chai already runs on cinnamon and ginger. Pumpkin and butternut fold right into that profile, so the cup tastes like one recipe instead of a tea with syrup in it.

  • Syrup 0.75 oz
  • Makes 1 chai latte (12 oz)
  • Time 8 minutes

Ingredients

  • 0.75 oz Pumpkin Butternut Spice syrup
  • 1.5 tsp Bombie Chai Sadie loose leaf (or per the package)
  • 6 oz water just off the boil
  • 4 oz steamed or frothed milk
  • Optional: a crack of black pepper on top

Method

  1. Steep the chai in the hot water for 5 minutes, then strain into a 12 oz mug.
  2. Stir in the syrup while the tea is hot.
  3. Steam or froth the milk and pour it over the top.
  4. Finish with a pinch of cinnamon, or black pepper if you like a chai with an edge.

Tip: For an iced version, steep double strength (3 tsp in 6 oz), stir in the syrup while hot, pour over ice, and top with cold milk. Cinnamon Blaze Betty, our black cinnamon tea, takes the syrup the same way at 0.75 oz per 12 oz.

Pour it with: Built for Bombie Chai Sadie, our chaga vanilla chai, and just as good in Cinnamon Blaze Betty. Two of the best seasonal pairings in the fleet.

Cocktails

Half to three-quarters of an ounce is the cocktail dose. The syrup replaces the sugar, not the spirit.

Recipe 06 of 10

Pumpkin Butternut Spice Espresso Martini

The recipe that started this page. Vodka, fresh espresso, coffee liqueur, and half an ounce of the syrup. The pumpkin and butternut sit under the coffee instead of on top of it.

  • Syrup 0.5 oz
  • Makes 1 cocktail
  • Time 5 minutes
Pumpkin Butternut Spice Espresso Martini made with Pumpkin Butternut Spice syrup

Ingredients

  • 1.5 oz vodka
  • 1 oz fresh espresso
  • 0.5 oz coffee liqueur
  • 0.5 oz Pink House Alchemy Pumpkin Butternut Spice syrup
  • Optional: 0.25 oz heavy cream or half-and-half for a softer, richer version
  • Ice
  • Optional garnish: three coffee beans and a pinch of cinnamon

Method

  1. Pull the espresso first so it has a minute to cool while you measure everything else.
  2. Add the vodka, espresso, coffee liqueur, syrup, and cream if using to a shaker with plenty of ice.
  3. Shake everything hard for 15 to 20 seconds. The hard shake is what builds the foam cap.
  4. Double strain into a chilled coupe or martini glass. Float three coffee beans on the foam and dust with cinnamon if you like.

Tip: Skip the cream for a cleaner, sharper drink. Add it when you want dessert.

Pour it with: Pull the shot from Whistling Corsair. A Brazil espresso gives you the chocolate and body a martini wants.

Recipe 07 of 10

Pumpkin Butternut Spice Old Fashioned

An old fashioned is bourbon, sugar, and bitters. Swap the sugar for this syrup and the drink picks up pumpkin, butternut, and warm spice without turning sweet.

  • Syrup 0.75 oz
  • Makes 1 cocktail
  • Time 5 minutes
Pumpkin Butternut Spice Old Fashioned made with Pumpkin Butternut Spice syrup

Ingredients

  • 2 oz bourbon
  • 0.75 oz Pumpkin Butternut Spice syrup
  • 4 to 5 dashes aromatic bitters
  • Ice, ideally one large cube
  • Garnish: orange peel and a cinnamon stick

Method

  1. Add the bourbon, syrup, and bitters to a mixing glass with ice.
  2. Stir 20 to 30 seconds, until the outside of the glass frosts.
  3. Strain over a large ice cube in a rocks glass.
  4. Express the orange peel over the drink, drop it in, and add the cinnamon stick.

Tip: Rye instead of bourbon makes it drier and spicier. Dark rum makes it dessert.

Provenance: This is Pink House Alchemy's own house recipe for the syrup, adapted from the card that ships with it. It needs no coffee. Pour it after the coffee.

Pancakes, Icing, and Baking

A simple syrup is a liquid sweetener. Swap it for part of the sugar and part of the liquid, never one-for-one with granulated sugar.

Recipe 08 of 10

Pumpkin Butternut Spice Pancakes

The syrup goes into the batter in place of the sugar, so every pancake carries the flavor, and then it goes over the top with real maple.

  • Syrup 0.25 cup
  • Makes 8 to 10 pancakes
  • Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1.5 cups all-purpose flour (190 g)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 0.5 tsp baking soda
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 cup buttermilk (8 oz)
  • 0.25 cup Pumpkin Butternut Spice syrup (2 oz)
  • 2 tbsp melted butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • For the drizzle: 2 oz real maple syrup warmed with 1 oz Pumpkin Butternut Spice syrup

Method

  1. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl.
  2. In a second bowl, whisk the egg, buttermilk, syrup, melted butter, and vanilla.
  3. Pour the wet into the dry and stir until just combined. Lumps are fine. Rest the batter 5 minutes.
  4. Heat a griddle or skillet to medium (about 350 F) and butter it lightly. Pour 0.25 cup per pancake.
  5. Cook 2 to 3 minutes until bubbles form and the edges set, flip, and cook 1 to 2 minutes more.
  6. Warm the maple syrup with the Pumpkin Butternut Spice for 20 seconds and pour it over the stack.

Tip: Want them richer? Top the stack with a spoon of the cream cheese icing below instead of the drizzle.

Pour it with: Serve with a mug of ALMIGHTY Huey. Well rounded coffee, sweet stack.

Recipe 09 of 10

Pumpkin Butternut Spice Cream Cheese Icing

Cream cheese icing takes a liquid sweetener well. The syrup replaces some of the powdered sugar and brings the pumpkin, butternut, and spice with it.

  • Syrup 3 to 4 tbsp
  • Makes About 2.5 cups
  • Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 8 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
  • 1.5 cups powdered sugar
  • 3 to 4 tbsp Pumpkin Butternut Spice syrup (1.5 to 2 oz)
  • Pinch of salt
  • Optional: 0.25 tsp cinnamon

Method

  1. Beat the cream cheese and butter together for 2 minutes until smooth and light.
  2. Add the powdered sugar in two additions and beat until no streaks remain.
  3. Add the syrup one tablespoon at a time, beating between additions, until the icing is spreadable but still holds a swipe.
  4. Add the salt and cinnamon, taste, and adjust with one more tablespoon of syrup if you want it louder.

Tip: Thin drizzle version: 1 cup powdered sugar whisked with 2 tbsp of the syrup and 1 tsp milk. Pour it over muffins, scones, or cinnamon rolls.

Use it on: Frosts 12 cinnamon rolls, a 9 x 13 cake, or the muffins below.

Recipe 10 of 10

Pumpkin Butternut Spice Glazed Muffins

The syrup does double duty: half a cup goes in the batter in place of some sugar and milk, and a brush of it over the hot muffins sets into a thin glaze.

  • Syrup 0.5 cup
  • Makes 12 muffins
  • Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour (250 g)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 0.5 tsp baking soda
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 large eggs
  • 0.5 cup melted butter (113 g)
  • 0.5 cup packed brown sugar (100 g)
  • 0.5 cup Pumpkin Butternut Spice syrup (4 oz)
  • 0.5 cup milk (4 oz)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • For the glaze: 2 tbsp Pumpkin Butternut Spice syrup

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 375 F and line a 12-cup muffin tin.
  2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl.
  3. In a second bowl, whisk the eggs, melted butter, brown sugar, syrup, milk, and vanilla until smooth.
  4. Fold the wet into the dry until just combined. Do not overmix.
  5. Divide the batter among the 12 cups, about three-quarters full.
  6. Bake 18 to 22 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
  7. Brush the tops with the 2 tbsp of syrup while the muffins are still hot. It soaks in and sets as they cool.

Tip: Pipe a swirl of the cream cheese icing on top once they're cool and you have a bake-sale winner.

Pour it with: Pour F-117 Nighthawk alongside. Sweet and smooth coffee, spiced muffin.

Pumpkin spice syrup questions, answered

How much pumpkin spice syrup goes in a latte?

Half to three-quarters of an ounce (1 to 1.5 tablespoons) of Pumpkin Butternut Spice on two shots of espresso with 6 to 8 oz of milk. Iced lattes take the higher end, cold brew and cold foam the lower. A 16 oz bottle makes about 21 lattes at 0.75 oz, or 32 espresso martinis at a half-ounce.

Is Pumpkin Butternut Spice made with real pumpkin?

Yes. The ingredients are cane sugar, water, pumpkin, butternut squash, and natural spices. There is no artificial flavoring and no orange dye, so it will not turn your drink orange.

Can you put pumpkin spice syrup in tea?

Yes, and black tea is where it works best. Add 0.75 oz to a chai latte or a strong-brewed cinnamon black tea. Stir it in while the tea is hot so it dissolves fully, then ice it if you want it cold.

Can you bake with a simple syrup?

Yes, with one adjustment. A simple syrup is roughly half sugar and half water, so swap it for part of the sugar and part of the liquid in a recipe rather than replacing granulated sugar one-for-one. The pancake and muffin recipes above are already balanced for it.

What alcohol goes with pumpkin spice syrup?

Bourbon and rye for an old fashioned, vodka with espresso and coffee liqueur for an espresso martini, and dark or spiced rum for anything you want to taste like dessert. Use 0.5 oz of syrup in an espresso martini and 0.75 oz in an old fashioned.

Is Pumpkin Butternut Spice available year-round?

No. It is a seasonal fall release made in small batches by Pink House Alchemy and sold only at Legendary Aviation Coffee Company. When the fall batch sells through, it is gone until the next season.

Is there a sugar-free version?

Not of this one. Pumpkin Butternut Spice is a cane sugar syrup. If you want zero sugar, the Zero Sugar Vanilla Bomb and Zero Sugar Lavender Bomb from the same maker are the two options on our shelf.

Stock the galley

One bottle covers the season if you pace it. Two covers the season if you make the cold brew by the pitcher. Order Pumpkin Butternut Spice while the fall batch is on the shelf, then pick the coffee and tea to pour it with: our specialty-grade coffee fleet, the Boujee Bomb teas, and the rest of the Superbly Simply Syrups.

Legendary Aviation Coffee Company is 100% disabled veteran-owned. We just lead with the coffee.

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