Brown Sugar Pumpkin Spice Shaken Espresso Recipe (Easy At-Home Fall Coffee)
Brown Sugar Pumpkin Spice Shaken Espresso and The Book of Luke
It may not be dropping out of the 100s here in Oklahoma but as you step out my front door you can see a decent number of brown leaves starting to pile up around my front steps, is it the heat slowly killing everything…probably. But regardless, leaves are falling so you know what that means- Fall is here baby (not really, but I’m going with it anyways)! That’s right it’s time for planning my sexy yet sensible Halloween costume, Autumn scented candle shopping at Ross, a Gilmore Girls rewatch, and of course-pumpkin flavored everything, especially coffee.
Listen, I love a store-bought Pumpkin Spice Latte as much as the next guy but there isn’t a great coffee spot on my way to work and I don’t feel like going out of my way and paying $6-$8 every day to get one. That just means I had to figure out how to make something just as good at home- plus I have a solid stock of reusable Starbucks and Tervises just taking up room in my cupboards (I have an issue with buying cute coffee mugs or cups). I did some searching on TikTok and kind of mashed up a few ideas and landed on something of my own that scratches the pumpkin spice itch:
Brown Sugar Pumpkin Spice Shaken Espresso
-2 TBS Brown Sugar
-Heavy sprinkle of Cinnamon
-1 TBS Nescafe Gold instant espresso (I like the intense flavor)
-1 or 2 TBS Coffee Mate Pumpkin Spice creamer (or any pumpkin flavored creamer)
-6 ounces water (I always eyeball it)
Add these ingredients into a glass jar and shake to combine or just use a milk frother like I do. Add ice and fill the rest of the cup with your milk of choice (we’re a soy milk household). If you squint and remind yourself that you are being frugal and saving a few minutes in the morning- this thing tastes amazing. Even if you don’t it still tastes bomb!
The Book of Luke
I have been trying to be better about getting into a nightly routine and part of that has been attempting to read for at least thirty minutes before bed. As much as I am loving the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, it is not the comfiest cozy bedtime read- it is more of an Audible listen at work. In my search for an alternative- I came across The Book of Luke (ok, my partner came across it at a book swap. He grabbed it and told me the description, and I immediately downloaded it to my Kindle).
First off- I totally missed the cozy book boat but in the best way. The Book of Luke is dramatic, sexy, suspenseful, and really fills the Traitors void I have been feeling since I finished the latest season. This book simultaneously made me want to keep reading and throw my Kindle across the room at the same time.
I rarely finish a book/series where I start out kind of hating the protagonist (looking at you, Feyre from ACOTAR. I made it halfway through A Court of Mist and Fury before I whipped my hands of her and wished her nothing but the worst.) The Book of Luke follows Luke, a former teen football star turned reality television star as he is pulled back in front of the camera in hopes of securing a future for him and his two children during a messy divorce from his Republican Senator husband (whose platform is built on Anti-Trans rhetoric). This alone had me wanting to put it down and move on with my life, but I pushed on. The book takes you on an emotional roller coaster that is powered by lies, betrayal, deceit, and trauma. But while Luke is the driving force of the story, he is far from the hero, the fact of which becomes increasingly evident as the story unfolds. Luckily characters are held responsible for their actions and the redemption arcing is redemption arcing.
If you are looking for a light beach read to comfort you- you may want to look elsewhere. If you’re in search of some slow burn dramatics and have always wondered about the juicy details going on behind the set of Survivor/The Traitors/The Amazing Race/Etc.- this just may be the book for you. After I finished it I immediately looked it up and was slightly annoyed that there was no sequel in the works.
As I write this, I’m munching on a pumpkin cookie, dog in lap, and deep diving to find another book to scratch that The Book of Luke itch and thinking about how I can finally convince my fiancé to watch Gilmore Girls with me, he REALLY hates both of the Gilmore girls, which does not bode well for my chances. If you need me in the next week you can probably find me smelling and loudly commenting on how good or bad the scents are on the candle aisle (the fellow shoppers need to know which ones to avoid), down a TikTok rabbit hole on a continued search to make the perfect at home coffee, or figuring out how to make a Ghostface robe sexy. More soon.
XOXO, Gossip Roy