Pumpkin Pie “Milk” Shake

Pumpkin Pie "Milk" Shake

I’ve been drinking pumpkin pie smoothies since pumpkins arrived in the markets this Fall.  I love me some pumpkin but in past years, I haven’t bought much because Chaz doesn’t like pumpkin.  Shirley Braden’s Crustless Gluten-free Pumpkin Pie has made him like pumpkin pie though.  You know what I’m making for Thanksgiving!

Earlier this week, I made some horchata.  In Mexico, horchata is typically made from rice.  In other Hispanic countries, it is made from almonds, sesame seeds, barley, or tigernuts.  I prefer the Mexican type made from rice.  Good horchata is full of cinnamon goodness.  In my opinion.  I’ve had horchata that had just a pinch of cinnamon and a ton of sugar.   That stuff was only good for sugar shock.  I made mine the easy way with store-bought rice milk, but I will be using this recipe to make it from scratch in the future.

I decided to use the horchata to make a milkshake with my pumpkin puree.  Heaven.  I’ve made the milkshake with almond milk and it just tastes better with the horchata.

Easy Horchata

32 ounce box of rice milk (I used 365)

4 cinnamon sticks, broken into pieces

1/4 cup raw local honey (or other sweetener) if your rice milk is unsweetened

Place rice milk in a container with the cinnamon stick and allow to sit overnight.  You can let it sit on the counter for a while before going to bed, then put in the fridge.  Next morning, remove the cinnamon pieces and add sweetener.  Stir and enjoy!

Pumpkin Pie “Milk” Shake

1/4 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 to 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (I used this mix: 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon each ground clove, ground nutmeg, ground ginger, and ground allspice)

horchata

Place pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice to a blender.  Pour horchata in the blender until just before the 2 cup mark.  Blend for 1 minute on low.

If pumpkin pie smoothies are more your style, check out these smoothie recipes from gluten-free easily, She Let Them Eat Cake, and Lexie’s Kitchen.

After I posted this blog, Gigi posted a wonderful Side of Science blog on the nutritional benefits of pumpkin. Check it out!

This post is linked to Wellness Weekends at Diet, Dessert and Dogs.