The Taste Traveller

pumpkin cookies

Looking for a change from your usual chocolate chip or oatmeal cookies? Try these! They are like little cakes. Both chewy and smooth - with pumpkin, nuts and raisins they are a good dose of healthy too. I couldn't resist adding a half cup of chocolate chips to these. Easy to make, they are a little bit of Autumn right there in just a few bites. Great with a hot cup of coffee or tea and perfect with a latte or cappuccino! 

I adapted the recipe from a new addition to my cookbooks, a Christmas present from my mom and stepdad, Most Loved Cookies (Most Loved Recipe Collections). I substituted some whole wheat flour for a portion of the all-purpose flour measurement. I added allspice to the short list of spices they have, and put the whole can of pumpkin in! Very pumpkin-y! I also made my cookies quite large which coupled with the whole can of pumpkin meant they required a few minutes more baking time (about 3 additional minutes). As with my pumpkin muffins I'd like to try this recipe with fresh pumpkin (I froze some portions up awhile back, so they are just waiting to be used) to see how the texture and perhaps flavour might vary. I think you could get away with 1 egg as well. I think a little plain yoghurt in place of 1 egg would work well. 

For now, here's the recipe. Have fun! 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (125 ml) butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups (300 ml) brown sugar, packed
• 2 large eggs
• 1 can (398 ml) pure pumpkin (they suggest 1 cup/250 ml but I put in the whole can)
• 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla
• 1 1/4 cups cups (300 ml) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup (175 ml) whole wheat flour
• 4 tsp (20 ml) baking powder
• 1/2 tsp (2 ml) salt
• 1/2 tsp (2 ml) ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp (2 ml) ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp (1 ml) ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp (1 ml) ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp (1 ml) allspice
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) raisins
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup (250 ml) chopped walnuts (or another nut of your choice)

Method:

Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Follow with pumpkin and vanilla. 

Combine next 7 ingredients in a bowl. Add to butter mixture in 2 additions, mixing well after each so there is no dry flour. 

Add raisins, chocolate chips and nuts. Mix well. With a medium-sized spoon (I used a tablespoon) drop batter in 1 1/2 tablespoon portions about 2 inches (5 cm) apart onto greased cookie sheets (or use parchment paper). Bake in 375⁰ F (190⁰ C) preheated oven for about 15 minutes (with more pumpkin and larger cookies mine needed about 17 minutes) until golden. Let stand on cookie sheets for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Makes from 2 to 4 dozen depending on how big the cookies are. 

Printer-friendly recipe

 
 

cocoa sugar cookies

 

It was almost Christmas and I had no Christmas baking in the house. This is just not right. I made some with my cousin Sandy a few weeks before - but it just didn't go that well - my shortbread was too buttery and most of it didn't turn out (so yet again I provided some good entertainment value with my Christmas baking mishaps and was reminded of the time I quadrupled the butter in my bird's nest cookies but neglected to do so with the rest of the ingredients!). My gingerbread men were fine but I just didn't end up with as many as I wanted and so we decided to go ahead and eat those ones with plans for me to make more. That didn't happen. So, to get off to a fresh start I thought I'd try an entirely new recipe!  

Mmm, what a treat these are! Extra special sugar cookies. From my The Complete Canadian Living Baking Book: The Essentials of Home Baking, these were to be easy and quick to make. The hitch was that when I started them it was later in the evening and I decided to chill the dough overnight and make them the next day. The recipes states that this is possible. Well, I went to continue the process the next day, first letting the dough warm up to room temperature, but it was almost breaking off, too dry. So, I resorted to warming it in the microwave for 40 seconds or so, still not good enough to be able to roll out effectively. So, my stepdad, here with my mom over the holidays, suggested working another egg into the batter. I did and this worked a treat to get the dough back to working shape. I lightly floured the kitchen counter, my working surface, and got the dough nicely rolled out to about a 1/4 inch thickness, then cutting out as many of my star shapes as I could. I overdid one baking tray a little bit, but these and the ones that I did not overdo were equally good actually. Less sugary than I would have thought they would be and very much cocoa-y. I would definitely make them again but I'd try it going straight through the whole process, and if I did refrigerate the dough again I would be prepared to adjust the recipe and add another egg to compensate if necessary.

They suggest you could turn them into jam-filled sandwiches, but I like them just this way, as they are. 

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup (175 ml) butter, softened
• 1 cup (250 ml) granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups (550 ml) all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup (75 ml) cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp (2 ml) baking powder
• pinch salt

Method:

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or grease. 

In a large bowl, beat butter with sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. In separate bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt until no streaks remain. Stir into butter mixture in 2 additions to make a smooth dough. Divide the dough in half and flatten into discs. Wrap each disc and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. As I noted above, you can also refrigerate for up to one day - handy if you want to have these really freshly baked prior to serving, but be prepared for the possibility of having to add some more liquid of some sort to get the dough workable again. 

On a lightly floured surface, roll out each disc to 1/4 inch (5 mm) thickness. Using a floured 2-inch (5 cm) round fluted cutter (or any favourite shape you have), cut into rounds. I had a star-shaped cutter which worked well. Place 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart on prepared baking sheets. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 350⁰ F (180⁰ C). Bake on top and bottom thirds of the oven, rotating and switching pans halfway through, until edges begin to darken, about 12 minutes. Transfer to racks to cool. 

To make ahead, layer between waxed paper in airtight container and store at room temperature for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 1 month. 

Makes 48 cookies (I would say this is approximate of course, but I did end up with close to this amount)