Pumpkin Cookie Recipe

Another pumpkin recipe!  YAY!  There's nothing quite like the smell and color of a freshly opened can of pumpkin!

I changed this recipe a bit since I first posted it.  I reduced the amount of sugar by 1/2 cup and added a little more spice.  If you tried the recipe previously and had different results, that's why.

1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup demerara sugar (or raw sugar)*
1 cup roasted, mashed pumpkin (or Libby's 100% Pumpkin)
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla (treat yourself to the real stuff; it's worth it!)
3 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour


Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes.

Cream together the sugar and butter.  Add the pumpkin, egg, and vanilla and mix well.  Add the spices, salt, baking soda, and baking powder and combine.

Slowly incorporate the flours.

Scoop onto a lined cookie sheet and bake for 17-20 minutes.



The cookies turned out lovely!  They tasted a bit like oatmeal pumpkin cookies.

I changed the recipe a bit, but here's a link to the original.  It includes a glaze.  I think the glaze is a bit unnecessary (especially since I already think that they are too sweet).

* I'm really fond of the demerara sugar - it gives pastries a hint of a brown sugar flavor - but if you don't have any, substitute it with a 50-50 combo of light brown sugar and regular sugar.


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Pumpkin-Applesauce Drop Cookies

You may have noticed that there's a bit of a theme to the last few recipes that I have posted.  I love to cook seasonal food, so I have been trying to develop recipes that make the most of the season.  Seeing that many people aren't particularly fond of Brussels sprouts, I decided to focus on apples and pumpkins/butternut squash instead.

Lightly sweet, these Pumpkin-Applesauce Drop Cookies are somewhere between drop cookies and scones, but despite their existential crisis, they are delicious.  

Pumpkin-Applesauce Drop Cookies *

3 ½ c whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch salt

4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 cup cold butter

2 cups cooked pumpkin/butternut squash (or Libby's 100% Pumpkin)

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (homemade or store bought)

1/3 cup honey

Preparation

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spice. Cut in butter, adding a bit at a time until it is mostly incorporated (it will probably be lumpy, but that's ok).

Add pumpkin, applesauce, and honey.  Mix until combined, but try not to overmix.

Drop the cookies by the spoonful onto a lined/buttered cookie sheet. 

Bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-15 minutes.  Makes approximately 36 cookies. 

* This recipe can be easily converted into a vegan recipe by replacing the honey with 1/3 cup of sugar and by replacing the butter with vegan margarine.


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Pumpkin Scone Recipe

There is a conspiracy in your cupboard: most commercially canned pumpkin is actually butternut squash (or a combination of other winter squashes).  These squashes tend to be sweeter and less stringy than traditional "pumpkin", so by creating these blends, the commercial pumpkin companies are actually providing us with a better product. 


This is why I feel no guilt when I call the following recipe my "pumpkin scones recipe" even though I used butternut squash to make it.  Regardless of the controversy, these scones are delicious.

*note* I was a touch conservative with the spices, so feel free to tailor the spicing to your own personal tastes. 


Pumpkin Scones

Ingredients
2 ½ cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
½ cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp fresh ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
½ cup cold butter
2 cups mashed butternut squash* (or Libby's 100% Pumpkin)
2 tbsp milk (or rice milk)

Preparation
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda.  Cut in butter, adding a bit at a time until mostly incorporated (it will probably be lumpy, but that's ok because that will make the scones more flaky).

Add pumpkin, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg and combine well.

On a lightly floured surface, knead dough a few times.  Form 18 lumpy balls of dough (each will be about ½ cup) and put them on baking sheets.

Bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes or until no longer doughy.





*Roasted Butternut Squash
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes.  Cut a butternut squash in half and scrape out the seeds.

Place squash halves on a lined baking sheet flesh side up brush liberally with melted butter.

Bake the squash on a baking sheet at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until fork tender.

Depending on the size of the squash, it may take 30-90 minutes to become fork tender. (I ended up having to toss a sheet of aluminum foil over the squash to help it along after 60 minutes) and it still took another 30 minutes).

When it is finally tender, scoop out and mash/puree the squash flesh. Allow to cool thoroughly. 



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