2teaspoonsvanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean, soaked with the almonds
4cupsfiltered water
½cuporganic pumpkin purée, canned or fresh
2teaspoonsground cinnamon*
¼teaspoonground nutmeg*
pinchof ground ginger*
pinchof ground cloves*
2tablespoonshoney or maple syrup or a couple of soft medjool dates, optional
Pinchof sea salt
Instructions
Soak the almond and vanilla bean, if using, in enough filtered water to be covered – overnight in the refrigerator, for at least 8 hours.
Discard the soaking water and rinse the almonds and the vanilla bean.
Place soaked nuts, the whole soaked vanilla bean (you can chop it up or split it open if you wish) or vanilla extract, honey (or other sweetener), the pumpkin puree, your spices, a dash of sea salt and 4 cups of filtered water into a high speed blender. Cover and blend on high for 1-2 minutes. It will be milky and have a bit of foam on the top.
Strain milk through a nut milk bag** and squeeze into a bowl. Discard the pulp or saving for another recipe.
Store in a covered glass jar, bottle or pitcher in the refrigerator, it’ll be good for about 4-5 days.
Separation is totally natural with homemade nut milks, just be sure to shake it up just before serving.
Notes
you can use any sweetener of your choice or skip it, if you prefer it to be unsweetenedI personally do not recommend using the cheesecloth, strainer or pantyhose methods, they are messy and require multiple passes to strain all the bits out. It is never quite as creamy as when I use a good nut milk bag.You can also substitute 2 1/2 teaspoons of a pre-blended pumpkin pie spice mix