Fall is finally coming around, and with cooler weather and shorter days, San Luis Obispo High Students are beginning to look forward to pumpkin spice themed everything.

Quarantine has given students and staff the opportunity to try new things, so why not learn how to bake?

Expressions collected student-submitted recipes to try at home to get into the fall spirit. 

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte Submitted by junior Elle McSween

2 cups milk (dairy or non-dairy)

2 tablespoons pumpkin puree, or more to taste, see our homemade pumpkin puree recipe

1 to 3 tablespoons sugar, depending on the desired sweetness

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, plus more for serving

1/2 cup strong hot coffee

Whipped cream, for serving

Add milk, pumpkin puree, and sugar to a saucepan over medium heat. Heat until hot, but do not boil. Remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk in the vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, and the coffee. Divide the mixture between two mugs. Top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice.

  “A drink like this can usually be found at a local Starbucks, but this is a way you can create as much as you want at home. It has a lot less sugar and all the other ingredients that Starbucks uses. It’s a fast, healthy alternative,” said McSween.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls Submitted by junior Katie Kovesdi, using a Food Network recipe.

Dough ingredients:

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast

1 cup pumpkin puree

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for flouring, sprinkling and rolling

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon (heaping) baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Melted butter, for buttering pans

Filling ingredients:

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Frosting ingredients:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 3/4 cups to 2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup whole milk, plus more if needed

2 tablespoons butter, melted

Dash of salt

 In a large saucepan, combine the milk, vegetable oil, and granulated sugar. Heat until hot but not boiling, then remove the pan from the stove and allow it to cool until the mixture is warm to the touch. Sprinkle the yeast over the surface of the liquid and allow it to sit for five minutes. Stir in the pumpkin puree until combined.

Combine four cups of the flour with the cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Sprinkle it into the saucepan and stir until it just comes together. Cover the saucepan with a dish towel and set in a warm, draft-free place for one hour.

After one hour, the mixture should be very puffy and at least doubled in size. Stir in the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and remaining half cup of flour until completely combined.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Drizzle butter into three pie pans (or a larger baking dish) and smear it all over the bottom of the pans.

Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and press it into a rectangular shape. If it is overly sticky, sprinkle generously with flour until easier to handle. Flour a rolling pin and roll the dough into a large rectangle about 18 inches by 24 inches.

For the filling: Drizzle the melted butter over the dough and smear it all over the surface with fingers. Mix together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Sprinkle this mixture all over the surface of the dough, covering all the melted butter.

Starting at the top, roll the dough downward into a large log, moving back and forth down the line of dough and always rolling toward you. Roll it tightly so the rolls will be nice and neat. When it’s all rolled, pinch the seam closed and turn the roll over so that the seam is facing down. Slice into 1/2- to 3/4-inch slices and place the slices in the buttered pan(s). Allow to rise for twenty minutes.

Bake until the rolls are nice and golden brown around the edges, 15 to 18 minutes.

For the frosting: While the rolls are baking, make the frosting by combining the cream cheese, powdered sugar, milk, butter, and salt in the bowl on an electric mixer. Beat until fluffy, adding more milk for a thinner frosting.

Frost the rolls the second they come out of the oven. Then allow them to sit for 15 minutes before serving.

  “I really love this recipe because it mixes something really delicious– cinnamon rolls, with a little twist to get in the fall spirit. It might seem like a lot of steps, but at the end of the day, it’s a delicious reward. It might even become a favorite dessert,” said Kovesdi.

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