Pumpkin Shortbread Cookies

I love baking with pumpkin puree especially during the Fall and Winter season.  Pumpkin Spice Drops are one my favorite cookies but I was in ready for a crunchy cookie packed with the spicy pumpkin cookie flavors.  These shortbread cookies do the trick with their spicy snap. They are especially delicious topped with Penuche Icing.

Pumpkin Shortbread Cookies

Makes about 2 dozen

½ cup butter, 113g

⅓ cup powdered sugar, 34g

1⅛ cup flour, 135g

⅛ teaspoon salt

½ cup decadent pumpkin butter, 135g (see recipe below)

½ teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

⅛ teaspoon ground cloves

⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mix the pumpkin butter and powdered sugar.

Add cool brown butter and vanilla and mix to fully incorporated. 
Whisk together flour, salt and spices in a small bowl.

Add dry ingredients to the wet and mix well.

Roll into log and wrap in plastic wrap, parchment, or waxed paper.
Freeze for 10-15 minutes or refrigerate until ready to bake.

Roll dough out to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick between parchment.
Use a cutter of your choice to cut out cookies. 
Roll scraps and repeat process.

Place cookies on baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

Remove cookies and let cool on rack.

Glaze cookies, if desired.

Recipe Adapted from ibakesheshoots.com 

Pumpkin Butter Stove Top Method

Makes about 2 cups

1 large can pumpkin puree, 29 ounces

1 3/4 cups brown sugar

Mix pumpkin puree and brown sugar in a large pan set to medium high heat.

Stir every 2 minutes or as needed.

After 20 minutes, turn heat to medium low and stir more frequently.

The pumpkin butter is ready when it has turned a deep orange-brown color and been reduced by about 40%.

Let cool and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Recipe Adapted from ibakesheshoots.com

Pumpkin Butter Crock Pot Method

Makes about 2 cups

2 15 ounce cans or 1 large can of pumpkin puree

1 ¾ cup packed brown sugar

Mix sugar and puree together in crock pot.

Cook on low for 6 hours until thickened.

Penuche Icing

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

4 tablespoons, 1/2 stick of butter

1/2 cup packed light or dark brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup light cream or evaporated milk

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla or 1 teaspoon rum

In a double boiler over simmering water stir until smooth butter, brown sugar, salt and cream.

Remove from heat and beat in powdered sugar and vanilla or rum until icing is smooth and spreadable.

Ice cookies cooled cookies by spooning a tablespoon of icing in the middle of each cookie and spread slightly. 

The icing will run over the edges if spread too close to the edges.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Yogurt Muffins

When muffins came on the scene in the 1980's, everyone was crazy about them. People said goodbye to donuts and cheese danish in favor of the healthy muffin.  Despite the fact that nearly every summer Sunday of much of my childhood was punctuated by my Grammy’s Wonderful BlueberryMuffins, muffins were new, exciting, healthy, and fast. They were a wonderful way to eat something that was like cake but not as decadent and seemingly healthy.  Muffins started showing up at coffee shops and bakeries in the common variety of blueberry and cornmeal but bakers were experimenting with new flavor combinations to entice consumers. The favorite muffins were lemon poppy seed, oat bran, carrot and cream cheese and banana chip. 

These whole wheat pumpkin yogurt muffins truly are healthy, they are lightly sweetened and loaded with nutrition.  These were filling and delicious and easy for my teenagers to take and eat on their way to school.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Yogurt Muffins

Makes around 1 dozen

1 ¼  cup whole wheat flour

½ cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup flax seed meal

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

2 large eggs

1 cup pumpkin purée

6 ounces plain yogurt (Greek or regular)

½ cup brown sugar or coconut sugar

3 tablespoons molasses

3 tablespoons canola oil or oil of your choice

2 tablespoons green pumpkin seeds (also known as pepitas)

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Preheat the oven to 375°F

Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, flax seed meal, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, pumpkin, yogurt, brown sugar, molasses and oil. Stir flour mixture into pumpkin mixture just until combined.

Spoon the batter into muffin cups, filling each almost full.

Sprinkle tops with pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds.

Bake until tops are browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of each muffin comes out with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it, about 25 minutes.

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and serve, or transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container up to 2 days or freeze.

Recipe adapted from Whole Foods

Cranberry Pumpkin and Walnut Bread

The smell of this bread is reason enough to make it.  When cut the sweet, wholesome smell wafted through the room followed by requests for a slice with sweet butter.  The cranberries are tart but somehow the tartness is balanced by the pumpkin and walnuts.  This recipe does take two days as the dough has to refrigerator for 24 hours.  The shape of the loaves was quite pleasing too. I loved how the rose so tall above the loaf pan.  Freezes well.

Cranberry-Walnut Pumpkin Loaves

 Makes 3 Small Loaves

2 2/3 to 3 cups bread flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons tepid water (80 F to 90 F)

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/3 cup sugar

8 ounces (1 cup) pureed cooked pumpkin canned solid packed 

1 large egg, at room temperature

3/4 cup walnut pieces, toasted and chopped to desired texture (I like mine fine chopped)

2/3 cup cranberries (if frozen, thaw and pat dry)

Mixing and Kneading

Whisk 2 2/3 cups of the flour, the cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together in a large bowl just to mix; set aside until needed.

Pour the water into a small bowl, sprinkle in the yeast, and whisk to blend. Allow the yeast to rest until it’s creamy, about 5 minutes.

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar at medium speed until creamy. Add the pumpkin and egg and beat until blended. Don’t be concerned if the mixture looks curdled; it will come together when you add the dry ingredients.

Set the mixer speed to low and add the yeast, then begin to add the dry ingredients, about 1/2 cup at a time.  As soon as the mixture starts to form a dough that comes together, scrape the paddle clean and switch to the dough hook.  If your dough does not come together, add a few more tablespoons of flour.

Mix and knead the dough on medium-low speed for 10 to 15 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl and the hook now and then with a rubber spatula.  At the start, the mixture will look more like a batter than a dough, but as you continue to work, it will develop into a soft, very sticky dough that will just ball up on the hook. (This dough develops much the way a brioche does.)

With the machine on low speed, add the walnuts, mixing only until incorporated, about 1 minute. Add the cranberries and mix as little as possible to avoid crushing them.

First Rise

Scrape the dough into a lightly buttered large bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and set aside at room temperature to rise until nearly doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.

Chilling the Dough

When the dough has doubled, fold it over on itself a couple of times to deflate it, wrap it tightly in plastic, and refrigerate overnight.

Shaping the Dough

At least 6 hours before you want to begin baking, remove the dough from the refrigerator.  Leave the dough, covered in its bowl, until it reaches at least 64 F on an instant read thermometer.  (This will take as long as 3 to 4 hours–don’t rush it.) If you don’t have an instant-read thermometer, look for the dough to be slightly cool and just a little spongy.

Lightly butter three 5 3/4- by 3 1/4- by 2-inch loaf pans.

Working on a lightly floured surface, divide the dough into thirds and pat each piece of dough into a 5-by 7-inch rectangle; keep a short end facing you. Starting at the top of each rectangle, roll up the dough toward you and seal the seam by pressing it with your fingertips. Seal the ends, then place each roll, seam side down, in a prepared pan.

Second Rise

Cover the pans lightly with a kitchen towel and allow to rise at room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the dough has nearly doubled–it will rise to just above the rim of the pans.

Baking the Bread

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 F.

Bake the loaves for about 35 minutes, or until deeply golden.  Remove the pans to a cooling rack; after a 5-minute rest, turn the breads out of their pans and allow them to cool to room temperature on the rack.

recipe inspired by Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan. P 108-109. 1996.

Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Penuche Icing

When Autumn comes around, despite the desert heat that still persists, I start craving all things pumpkin - pumpkin muffins, pumpkin scones, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, and these pumpkin spice cookies.  Their texture is somewhere between a cake and a cookie - just cakey enough but you can still hold it in your hand.  They are truly a Fall cookie as they are spicy but not so spicy that their flavor crosses the line with Christmas gingerbread.  This soft cookie with a lovely butterscotch icing is just right make before the holiday season.

I enjoyed these cookies with tea and sweet memories of leaves falling and crisp Autumn air, and a lovely re-read of the Hobbit.

Pumpkin Spice Drops with Penuche Icing

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened

1 cup pumpkin

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350° F. Line baking sheets with parchment or grease.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt in medium bowl.

Beat sugar and butter in large mixer bowl until well blended.

Beat in pumpkin, egg and vanilla extract until smooth.

Add flour mixture gradually and mix until well combined.

Use 1 1/2 tablespoon scoop or drop by rounded tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets.
Bake for 11 to 14 minutes or until edges are firm.

Using a glass flatten cookies gently as soon as they come out of the oven. These cookies are rise while baking and flattening allows for a nice layer of icing.

Move to wire racks to cool completely.

Frost with Penuche Glaze.

Penuche Glaze

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

4 tablespoons, 1/2 stick of butter

1/2 cup packed light or dark brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup light cream or evaporated milk

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla or 1 teaspoon rum

In a double boiler over simmering water stir until smooth butter, brown sugar, salt and cream.

Remove from heat and beat in powdered sugar and vanilla or rum until icing is smooth and spreadable.

Ice cookies by spooning a tablespoon of icing in the middle of each cookie and spreading slightly.  The icing will run over the edges if spread too close to the edges.

Traditional Pumpkin Pie

This is the pie that I grew up on - straight off the pumpkin pack label.  My mother made this pie every Thanksgiving and every Christmas.  I remember watching her mix up this pie and pour it into frozen pie crusts and baking while then she would move on to the more labor intensive apple pie.  I can see why this recipe is so popular with so much going on during the holidays this recipe is a real time saver.  While the recipe I like to use is time consuming and creates a bigger mess versus this recipe's two bowls and beaters, the depth of flavor of the aforementioned pie does win out most of the time for me. However the texture of this pie is lovely and light.  If I am pressed for time and use this recipe or perhaps just would like a pumpkin pie outside of Thanksgiving or Christmas, I use this recipe.  I have adjusted the spices to give it a spicier bite.

Traditional Pumpkin Pie
Makes 1 9-inch pie

1 recipe of  Pâte Brisée- traditionally unbaked but I blind baked mine for 20 minutes at 350F to ensure a nice crisp crust
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 large eggs
1 15-ounce can of pumpkin pack
1 12 ounce can of evaporated milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees farhenheit.
Mix sugar, salt, cinnamon ginger, nutmeg and cloves in a small bowl and set aside.
Beat eggs in a large bowl.
Stir in pumpkin and sugar and spice mixture.
Gradually stir in evaporated milk.
Pour mixture into pie shell.
Bake for 15 minutes at 425 F then reduce temperature to 350 degrees farhenheit.
Bake for 30-40 minutes until knife inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool on wire rack for 3 hours.
Serve immediately or refrigerate.

Recipe adapted from Libby