It’s almost Halloween, and you know what that means — time for the annual taste of fall.

I’m not talking about stealing from the kids’ pumpkin bucket (although any Almond Joys are mine, unless her brother gets to them first).

Even though I love the cupcakes featured in today’s cover story, I’m not talking baked goodies either.

No, the seasonal treat I’m referring to comes in a cup. It’s pumpkin latte time.

I’m not sure when this seasonal specialty became so popular, but it seems to be the unofficial drink of fall, and not just at the big-name chains. Even local shops feature their take on pumpkin coffee drinks.

Purists would say it’s not really coffee — it’s more like pumpkin-flavored milk with a little coffee splashed in. That’s certainly how it ended up at my house when I tried a couple of pumpkin latte recipes recently.

I should’ve known that, as with most flavored coffee drinks, it’s more about the flavor than the coffee. So “less coffee, more pumpkin” is the feedback I got when I tried a typical recipe.

Most call for two cups of milk, a little canned pumpkin or pumpkin-flavored syrup, vanilla, espresso and spices.

While you can easily add pumpkin flavor with syrup (such as the Torani brand), I used real pumpkin to add an appealing thickness. After a couple of tries, I decided canned pumpkin pie filling might work better than puree, because the pie filling is already spiced. Otherwise, you really do have to strain out the spices or you’ll end up with a mouthful of pumpkin pie spice.

Flavored syrups are certainly useful. I used Torani’s vanilla syrup (available at Walmart) instead of vanilla extract to add both sweetness and a pleasing vanilla flavor. Plus, I figured the vanilla syrup would be a versatile ingredient to have around (the kids already are eyeing it for vanilla Cokes). I also used half-and-half along with the milk to add a bit of richness.

So, for about the same price as two small pumpkin lattes at a coffee shop, I got enough ingredients to keep working on the perfect pumpkin latte. (About $8: $4.24 for the vanilla syrup, $1.37 for the pumpkin and $2.48 for half-and-half. I didn’t count the milk, coffee and spices already on hand.)

Look for recipe updates and local dining news on my Indy Kitchen blog at http://blogs.indy star.com/indykitchen.