Pumpkin Spice Latte Pie

Pumpkin is one of my favorite fall flavors and I never get tired of baking up desserts that feature it. This Pumpkin Spice Latte Pie is a classic pumpkin pie with a twist inspired by one of the most popular fall coffee drinks out there. It starts with plenty of pumpkin, but coffee and warm pumpkin pie spices are added until each bite tastes just as satisfying as a sip of the coffee house classic.

While you can add in a cup or more of hot, freshly brewed coffee to a chocolate cake recipe, there isn’t a lot of extra liquid in a pumpkin pie that can be substituted for coffee. As a result, you need to use instant coffee or espresso to bring in that rich coffee flavor. Instant coffee is slightly easier to find in grocery stores, but instant espresso delivers a deeper coffee flavor and is what I recommend using in this recipe. If you only have regular instant coffee, you’ll want to add in an extra half tablespoon or so to bump up the coffee in the finished dessert. Starbucks Via can also be directly substituted for the instant espresso.

Along with the coffee, the filling includes ground cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg. This four spice blend is the base for most commercially available pumpkin pie spice mixes, so feel free to use that in place of all the spices. I was generous with the spices here because they need to compete with the coffee a bit and I wanted to ensure that they showed up clearly in the finished pie.

The pie should be refrigerated before serving to ensure that it is set completely and slices neatly. The pie can be baked in a pastry crust or a graham cracker crust, so use what you have on hand. Serve it along side a cup of coffee or a homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte

Pumpkin Spice Latte Pie
9-inch pastry or graham cracker crust, baked and cooled
1 15-oz can pumpkin puree (approx 1 3/4 cups)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 tbsp instant espresso powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup milk

Preheat oven to 400F.
In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree,  sugars, eggs, instant espresso, spices, vanilla and milk until very smooth. Pour into prepared crust.
Bake for 10 minutes at 400F, then turn the oven temperature down to 350F (without opening the oven door) and bake for an additional 30-35 minutes, or until filling is filling is just set and jiggles only slightly when the pan is jiggled.
Allow pie to cool completely on a wire rack, then refrigerate until ready to serve.

Makes 1 pie; serves 8-10.