A quick poll: Are you team pumpkin spice or team apple cider?
Once the weather cools and the tree leaves change colors, people often debate which fall flavor reigns supreme: pumpkin spice or apple cider. In our family, the answer is complicated.
My sister hates all things pumpkin spice. HATES it. With a passion. My bestie, on the other hand, LOVES pumpkin spice. Pumpkin spice lattes, muffins, cookies … you name, she’s here for it.
SIDE NOTE: My grandmother used to tell us when we were little that we couldn’t use the word ‘hate.’ She believed kids were too young to truly understand the strength of the word. We could not like something — even dislike it extremely — but not hate it. Not until we were older with more life experience and a bigger frame of reference. Now that I’m 51 and my sister 53, I think our grandmother would agree that we’re old enough to use the word appropriately. For my sister, that means declaring that she hates pumpkin spice because she truly feels that strongly about it — Fair enough.
My dad is more of an apple guy than a pumpkin guy (although in beverage form, he prefers a cold Rolling Rock to either), and my husband and my sons like both equally in the form of muffins, donuts, or pies (apple cider is the clear winner in the beverage wars for the three of them).
As for me, it depends. Warm apple cider over a pumpkin spice latte, for sure, but I’m all about the winter squashes (sprinkled with cinnamon) when it comes to roasted veggies and soups.
My mother has an entirely different opinion. If you ask her, she’d say the real flavor of fall is a combination of chocolate, marshmallow, and graham cracker.
If you read last year’s post, you know that my mother believes fall is synonymous with Mallomars. Not football. Not Halloween or Thanksgiving. Not pumpkin spice or apple cider. Just Mallomars. The woman is obsessed with these seasonal cookies and buys them in bulk, sending a few boxes to each of her five grandsons as soon as they appear in stores.
Last year, when her local grocery store enforced a 2-box limit, she beat the system by using multiple check-out counters to purchase five times the allowed amount. This year, she one-upped herself: She ordered boxes through Amazon. Talk about beating the system (and saving time and gas money)! The woman is a low-key genius.
Whatever your favorite fall flavor is, I say enjoy it! With all the hatred and violence, sadness and pain in the world, you deserve a little joy — even if it’s just a PSL from Starbucks or a box of Mallomars.
— LJDT
