Thursday, October 31, 2013

Iced Pumpkin Spice Cookies


Happy Halloween!  Growing up I was never a big fan of pumpkin, and thus never baked much with it.  However this time of year I always start to feel an increasing pressure for pumpkin baked goods.  So I gave in and started baking more with it this year - and learned that pumpkin is mainly a vessel for delicious fall spices.  These cookies were the final touch in winning me over!  They are a soft spice filled cookie, with a light sugary/spiced icing on top - great for a blustery autumn day.

Note - if you are in the UK and have struggled to find cans of pumpkin, no worries, just roast your own!  Follow this link for simple steps and pictures of how to roast a pumpkin.  And remember: you can substitute any type of squash you like the flavor of, in a recipe that calls for pumpkin.  If you are sticking with pumpkin - pick a small one, as they tend to be sweeter.  I roast and puree a few pumpkins at the beginning of the season, then freeze little containers with 1 cup of puree - a great way to have easy pumpkin all season.


Iced Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Ingredients:
113 grams (1/2 cup) unsalted butter softend.
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups flour

Icing:
2 cups powdered sugar
4 Tb milk
14 grams (1 Tb) melted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 175c (350f).
1. Cream the butter and sugars together.  Then mix in the egg, pumpkin and vanilla extract.  Finally mix in all the dry ingredients.
2. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  Bake for ~12 minutes (they will just start to brown around the edges).
3. Cool cookies on a wire rack.
4. Make the icing - mix all the ingredients together.  Dip the top of each cooled cookie into the icing.  If the icing is too thick a consistency, mix in a little more milk.


1 comment:

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