Plus, a recipe for pumpkin spice mini donuts
Warm spices have been associated with harvest celebrations and winter feasts in the West since the spice trade brought valuable cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice via the Silk Road. Cookbooks dating back to the 1890s reference pumpkin pie spice, and a bottled blend of nine unidentified spices marketed as such was introduced to consumers by Thompson & Taylor 90 years ago, in 1933.
Marketing is a world full of imitations, but a few products become so entrenched in popular culture and synonymous with a season that they spill out into other industries. And so it was with Starbucks’ creation. Most of us associate food and drinks with seasons and holidays, people and circumstances. There’s enough guilt and shame associated with what we eat. Let people have their small pleasures and their affordable traditions that bring comfort and help them feel grounded in an unstable world, wherever they can find them.Who needs a doughnut to pair with their PSL? No need for a special cutter; use a shot glass or the rim of an empty small tomato paste can.
When you’re ready to make your doughnuts, pat the dough about half an inch thick on a well-floured surface; I like to do this on a rimmed baking sheet to contain the mess. Cut rounds with a shot glass or empty small tomato paste can, dipping the rim in the excess flour on your counter in-between. Poke a hole through the middle of each doughnut with a chopstick or straw, and stretch it out a bit with your finger.