Okay, don't panic but...today's blog post is a pumpkin coffee recipe.
I know. This from the girl who vehemently dislikes the OG pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks. (The pumpkin cream cold brew, however… π)
But over the last few years of suffering through pumpkin coffees, I think I’ve finally found what I like: drinks that skip the spices and go straight for the orange stuff.
So when I decided to make another coffee recipe for this Halloween season, I decided it had to be a pumpkin brown sugar shaken espresso.

Whipped coffee was all the rage in 2020, but this year I’ve been enjoying at-home takes on the popular drinks. My friend Samantha got me hooked on brown sugar lattes, and today I’m going to show you how I made a pumpkin version!
Then stay tuned because at the end of the post, I have THE perfect playlist to enjoy while sipping this drink, courtesy of my friends over at Your Best Halloween Ever.

Pumpkin Brown Sugar Shaken Espresso
Ingredients
Pumpkin Brown Sugar Shaken Espresso
- 3-4 oz espresso (or strongly brewed coffee)
- 1-2 oz pumpkin simple syrup (recipe below)
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 8-12 oz milk of your choice
- 1 dash cinnamon (optional, garnish)
Pumpkin Simple Syrup
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- 6 Tbsp canned pumpkin
Instructions
Pumpkin Simple Syrup
- Combine 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water in a saucepan. Stir until the sugar dissolves.
- Place on stove over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Turn off heat and stir in six tablespoons of canned pumpkin. Once combined, allow the mixture to cool.
- Pour into an air-tight container (mason jars are great!) and store in the fridge for up to one month.
Pumpkin Brown Sugar Shaken Espresso
- Brew 3-4 ounces of espresso of your choice. You can also use strongly brewed coffee.
- Stir 1 tablespoon of brown sugar into espresso and allow to cool.
- Pour espresso into a cocktail shaker. Add 1-2 ounces of pumpkin simple syrup and 8-12 ounces of the milk of your choice. Seal the cocktail shaker and shake vigorously for 45-60 seconds.
- Open the cocktail shaker and pour your drink into your favorite Halloween coffee mug.
- Top with a dash of cinnamon, if desired.
How to Make a Pumpkin Brown Sugar Shaken Espresso

To get started, brew 3-4 ounces of espresso. I bought a Nespresso machine last year to feed my 2 p.m. latte habit since I was working from home and couldn’t pop over to a local coffee shop easily anymore. For this recipe, I used two of the double espresso scuro capsules.

It’s not the fanciest home espresso machine, but it works for this ghoul!

I mean, just look at how pretty that is!
I like to brew my espresso straight into my cocktail shaker. Just be careful not to grab it by the bottom – it gets hot! (I’ve learned the hard way…)

Scoop up one heaping tablespoon of brown sugar (light or dark, whatever you have on-hand is fine!) and add it to your hot espresso. Stir to combine. Then I suggest letting this cool for at least 15 minutes before adding the pumpkin syrup, milk, and actually shaking. Otherwise, the heat from the coffee will break the seal on our cocktail shaker when we try to shake it.

Next, stir in your pumpkin simple syrup. To make this, combine one cup of water with one cup of sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves. Then place over medium heat on the stove until the mixture boils and cut the heat. I immediately added 6 tablespoons of canned pumpkin. Stir to combine until it’s this gorgeous orange color!
And no, no spices here. I prefer my pumpkin coffee without it because it never fully dissolves and makes everything gritty. I also prefer the taste of plain pumpkin.

Finally, add 8-12 ounces of your milk of choice to your cocktail shaker. While I do drink cow’s milk, I find that I prefer the taste of oat milk in my lattes these days. Oatly is my favorite, and for this recipe, I’m using the barista edition which I found at my grocery store.

Seal the cocktail shaker, and shake the mixture vigorously for 45-60 seconds. This will help create the foam and is a great alternative if you don’t have a milk frother or stick blender. Plus, it’s kinda fun!
Reminder: make sure your mixture has cooled a bit, otherwise the heat will expand and break the seal on your cocktail shaker…and create a giant mess. Another lesson I’ve learned the hard way.

Pour into your favorite Halloween mug, and it should look a little something like this! Top with a dash of cinnamon, if you’d like.
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What’s your favorite pumpkin coffee?
Share with me in the comments! And while you’re sipping this pumpkin brown sugar shaken espresso, be sure to give Your Best Halloween Ever’s playlist, Halloween Coffee Shop, a listen. I was lucky enough to get a preview of it over the summer, and it’s become one of my go-to’s! (Be sure to check out the entire playlist section of their blog too – SO many good options!)
Enjoyed this recipe? Here are three more you might like:
Happy haunting,




Autumn Zenith
Lip-lickingly scrumptious recipe! Thank you very much for sharing this cozy, wonderful pumpkin espresso recipe with us. Cheers!!!
Autumn Zenith π Witchcrafted Life
Miranda | Spooky Little Halloween
Of course! Let me know if you make one. :)