The Best Fall Coffee Drinks to Make at Home

This year, why not branch out beyond the typical pumpkin spice latte? Skip the trip to the cafe with these easy recipes for fall coffee drinks to make at home: our whole-food, better-for-you take on the Apple Crisp Macchiato and Pumpkin Spice Cold Brew.

These fall drink recipes offer up all the autumnal flavors you crave this time of year—warm cinnamon, sweet pumpkin, crisp apple—and can be easily adapted to suit your diet. There’s an espresso-spiked, refined-sugar-free twist on hot apple cider steeped with whole cinnamon sticks and a pumpkin cold brew with a topper of creamy spiced foam that can be made with or without dairy.  

Refined-Sugar-Free Apple Crisp Macchiato Recipe

Yield: 2 servings

Active time: 5 minutes

Total time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

For the apple syrup:

2 baking apples (Granny Smith or Jonathan work well), cored and chopped

1/4 cup Thrive Market Organic Raw Honey or agave

1/2 cup water

2 Thrive Market Organic Cinnamon Sticks

For the macchiato:

4 ounces brewed espresso (try Red Bay Coffee Carver’s Dream Espresso)

8 ounces Thrive Market Organic Oat Beverage (or milk of your choice)

2 tablespoons apple syrup 

Thrive Market Organic Ground Cinnamon, to serve

Bare Snacks Organic Apple Chips, to garnish (optional)

Instructions

First, make the apple syrup: In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the chopped apples, sweetener, water, and cinnamon sticks. Bring to a very gentle simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Cool slightly, strain out solids, and set aside.

While the apple syrup is cooking and cooling, brew espresso and heat/froth oat milk using a steamer or handheld frother.

Fill two mugs or glasses with 2 ounces of espresso and 1 tablespoon of apple syrup each. Top each with steamed milk and dust with cinnamon. Garnish with an apple chip, if desired, and serve.

Dairy-Optional Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew Recipe

Yield: 2 servings

Active time: 10 minutes

Total time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

4 ounces heavy whipping cream or Thrive Market Organic Coconut Cream, chilled*

2 tablespoons Thrive Market Organic Pumpkin

1 teaspoon Thrive Market Organic Ground Cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg or Thrive Market Organic Ground Nutmeg

2 tablespoons sweetener of your choice, like Lakanto Liquid Monkfruit Sweetener or agave syrup

24 ounces cold brew coffee, like Wandering Bear Straight Black Cold Brew Coffee On The Go

2 tablespoons vanilla syrup, agave syrup with 1/4 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, or Lakanto Sugar-Free French Vanilla Simple Syrup

Directions

First, make the pumpkin spice foam: In a large, chilled mixing bowl, combine the heavy cream or coconut cream, pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sweetener. Whip with a hand mixer for 5 minutes, or until it’s creamy and forms stiff peaks but is still pourable. Set aside.

Fill two tall glasses with 12 ounces of cold brew and 1 tablespoon of vanilla syrup or agave each. Stir or whisk to combine. Add a handful of ice cubes to each glass, top with a few spoonfuls of the pumpkin spice foam, and serve.

*If you’re using coconut cream instead of whipping cream to make this recipe dairy-free, make sure it’s well chilled, which will make it easier to whip.

Recipe credit: Becky Reams

Photo credit: Elisha Knight