Pumpkin Pie Spice Vs Apple: What's The Difference?

When holiday baking comes along, you need an arsenal of spices to curate that classic, warm, cozy taste in your recipes. Pumpkin and apple pie spice are two blends that seem to dominate the fall baking scene. Pumpkin pie spice mixes cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and allspice — though not every premade mix contains the same blend. Take, for example, McCormick (which has no clove) and The Spice Way, which does.

Apple pie spice features the same spices but omits the cloves (which gives pumpkin pie spice a fragrant and intense warmness) — and, depending on the recipe, may feature cardamom (though, once again, McCormick's blend does not). Both blends are slightly savory, complex, spicy, and sweet. The omission of cloves in the apple pie variety produces a more delicate balance of spices. Additionally, the swap for cardamom provides an aromatic flavor that the pumpkin spice blend lacks. Cardamom can balance out the sweetness of fruit and provides a sharp, bright zing for the best easy apple pie recipe. Cinnamon is the most dominant taste in apple pie spice. In contrast, pumpkin spice has a wider scope of savory complexity that is perfect for bringing out flavors in heartier confections, like this maple bourbon sweet potato pie. 

Pumpkin and apple pie spice are versatile blends. After all, each mixture isn't limited to apple or pumpkin pie. Pumpkin pie spice is the secret ingredient when making a simplified pumpkin spice sauce. A few dashes add a distinctive, spicy, sweet flavor for a tasty homemade PSL. Have that latte with some fall-flavored granola by sprinkling a teaspoon of pumpkin spice into your granola before baking, which pairs well with nuts and dried fruit. This blend also makes the ideal topping for a comforting bowl of oatmeal, and it works to impart additional flavor to streusels like in a cinnamon streusel coffee cake.

Add a teaspoon of apple pie spice to homemade caramels for an autumnal twist on the classic confection that will impress your taste buds. Gather all of the apple pie spices to use in the dry ingredients of your apple cider donuts for fragrant specks of seasonal flavor in every bite. Before topping your desserts, sprinkle some of the cardamom and cinnamon blend into whipped cream for an extra swirl of fragrant flavor on your fresh-baked pie.