Make Your Own Pie Spices (Apple + Pumpkin)

It's SO easy to make your own pie spices - both apple pie spice and pumpkin pie spice. The two mixes use almost the same spices (ones that are probably in your cabinet right now), and simplify the steps in your baking recipes. There's no need to buy premade pie spices again!

Today's post is something simple, something useful, and something maybe even a little...basic. I'm going to roll with it and own it, because apple pie spice and pumpkin pie spice are two spice blends that have made their way to the front row of my spice shelf.

They cut down on all the scooping/measuring/repeating that comes along with adding each individual spice to a recipe, and are at the ready for adding new flavors to all kinds of cookies, cakes, muffins, and more.

Plus, mix them up in little jars, slap a label on them, and they're ready to roll for fall gifting. What's easier than that?

You'll find numerous variations on homemade apple pie and pumpkin pie spices out there, but I'm partial to the ratios of individual spices used here. Of course, feel free to tweak the ratios to fit your tastes if you know you're not the biggest fan of cloves, ginger, etc.

Apple Pie Spice vs. Pumpkin Pie Spice

Both feature warm and cozy flavors, so what's the difference?

Apple pie and pumpkin pie spice blends share three spices in common: ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.

From there, apple pie spice adds cardamom. Cardamom brings a pungent herbal and fruity note, and is popular in Scandinavian baking recipes.

On the other hand pumpkin pie spice is rounded out with ground ginger and cloves. Ginger is a must in sweet canned pumpkin recipes, while cloves provide a punchy, sweet and spicy flavor.

Apple Pie Spice

Of the four individual apple pie spices, cinnamon has the biggest piece of the pie (jokes!), with nutmeg coming in a distant second. Reason being is that nutmeg can be unforgiving, in that one pinch too much dominates the flavor in a baked good.

Allspice is a fairly common baking spice, but a note about the cardamom. It will be the most expensive baking spice featured in either of these two pie spices, but keep your eye out for a sale. I resisted buying it for a long time but took the plunge when I happened upon a big sale. I'm glad I did! It really adds something special to apple recipes, especially crockpot apple pie filling and puff pastry apple turnovers.

Pumpkin Pie Spice

My pumpkin pie spice uses five ground spices - cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. Pumpkin pie spice gets a big burst of ginger, which is a mainstay in pumpkin pie and other pumpkin baked goods. I love the taste of ginger so there's a fair amount in here, but if you're less of a fan, you can decrease the quantity by one half or one whole teaspoon.

Pumpkin pie spice also has cloves, which give it a warm and distinctive touch. Ground cloves do have a strong flavor and could potentially become overpowering, so I'd suggest not overdoing it on those.

Recipes to Use Pie Spices

Now comes the fun part - putting them to use! Here are some recipes that call for either apple or pumpkin pie spice.

Pumpkin Spice Butter

Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal

Pumpkin Bread with Maple Syrup

Pumpkin Brownies

Apple Pie Donuts by Maebells

Cinnamon Apple Pie Granola by No Spoon Necessary

Caramel Apple Pie Bars by Life Made Sweeter

Candied Nut Cranberry-Apple Snack Mix by Whole and Heavenly Oven

Baked Pumpkin Donut Holes by Live Well Bake Often

Pumpkin Spice Latte Blondies by The Recipe Rebel

Pumpkin Pie Cheesecakes with Bourbon Whipped Cream and Salted Caramel by Floating Kitchen

If you’ve enjoyed this recipe, I’d love for you to leave a star rating in the recipe card and/or a comment review below!