Beyond the Latte: The 8 Best Pumpkin Spice Treats in Brooklyn
Despite how weirdly warm it is, doesn’t it feel as if winter is has approached earlier this year than ever before? We’ve barely entered our second week of November, after all, and our coworkers’ desks are littered with Starbucks’ minimalist, gradiated red holiday cup, filled with the company’s holiday flavors. This is ridiculous; we haven’t satisfied our tastes for pumpkin spice just yet. But rather then get our fill at Starbucks, we’ve put together a list of some pumpkin treats that will let you feel like it’s fall for a little longer.
Pumpkin Whoopie Pie
The whoopie pie—similar to the oatmeal cream pie in design and its confusing moniker; neither are pies but rather a cookie/cake hybrid—is something you would find in your grandma’s house that you would actually enjoy. Two soft and chewy mound-shaped pieces of pumpkin cake are sandwiched around cream cheese frosting, making for comfort food worth swooning over.
One Girl Cookie 68 Dean Street, Cobble Hill
Pumpkin Cheesecake
My only qualm with regular pumpkin pie is that it’s too sweet, so this hefty slice of cheesecake heaven is a great alternative for those of us who want to enjoy this Thanksgiving dessert, but don’t need to be reminded of the prevalence of Type II diabetes with each bite. Here, subtle hints of pumpkin bring out the richness in this seasonal dessert without being too cloying.
Café Forte 619 St Johns Place, Prospect Heights
Autumn Spice Smoothie
With a list of ingredients that includes pumpkin pie spice, maple syrup, vanilla soy milk, and ginger, Perelandra’s Autumn Spice Smoothie is truly fall in a cup. Loaded with some strong spices, a fresh banana is blended in to help mellow out the flavor, giving it the perfect fruit-and-spice balance.
Perelandra 175 Remsen Street, Brooklyn Heights
Pumpkin Cream Doughseed
Sprinkled with spiced pepitas, this pumpkin cream doughseed—mini, filled doughnuts—packs a lot of flavor for its size but in a subtle way, as if to merely tease, rather than overwhelm, your tastebuds with its presence.
Doughnut Plant 245 Flatbush Avenue, Prospect Heights
No Sleep ‘til Pumpkin Ice Cream
So technically this is coffee ice cream, but the chucks of pumpkin ooey gooey bar blanketed in the folds of the cream are the true show stoppers. Packed with the sweet spice of cinnamon, you’ll find yourself foraging through the ice cream just to find the delicious chunks.
Ample Hills Creamery 305 Nevins Street, Gowanus
Pumpkin Spice Latte
Contrary to popular belief, Starbucks isn’t the only place that has pumpkin spice lattes. Bien Cuit offers this seasonal favorite, but it’s made by a barista that cares about the presentation and taste of the latte. No red cups, but whatever.
Bien Cuit on 120 Smith St., Brooklyn Heights
Pumpkin Macaron
You really can’t go wrong with a macaron. Like a dainty and more sophisticated cupcake, they’re light and airy but still packed with flavor. And it’s not every day that one can enjoy a pumpkin-flavored dessert and feel like a child again; well, a child that was born in France.
Macaron Parlour 808B Union Street, Park Slope
Pumpkin Spice Cupcake
Despite the bitterness brought on by a guy breaking up with his girlfriend outside the shop’s window, this cupcake still managed to retain its sweetness and made us realize that it’s all we’re really looking for in a relationship right now. Like, it even comes topped with maple cream frosting. What else could anyone want?
Little Cupcake Bakeshop on 598 Vanderbilt Avenue, Prospect Heights