Friday, November 1, 2013

Perfect Pumpkin Cookies

I know you guys are jonesin' for some sweetness after last night's candy overload, am I right? No? Well...too bad. :-)

One of my favorite cookies as a kid were a super moist pumpkin one that my mom crafted masterfully. They were generally accompanied by a super sweet cream cheese frosting (which I LOVED, of course, since I had a sweet tooth...now, I don't find it necessary), but I wanted to keep these as natural as possible. They're low on the "real food" scale, but I wanted something close to the original...and, at least the ingredients were 95% organic. :-)

But, most importantly, they taste insanely close to the original. Yay! And these are super baby-friendly. Double yay!

The recipe I started with came from Live Renewed, but I made a few small changes. Like, teensy tiny.

Pumpkin Cookies
(Makes between 36 and 42, depending on how big you like them. That's what she said.)


Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter (softened)
1- 1 1/2 cup sugar (depends on how much you want; I used raw organic)
1 egg
1 15 oz. can of pumpkin
1/2 cup yogurt (we used Stonyfield whole milk plain...yes, whole milk)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour (we used unbleached organic all-purpose whole wheat...there's a mouthful for ya!)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a couple of cookie sheets.

In a stand mixer (or using a hand blender; use whatchya got), cream the butter and sugar together. Any kitty assistance you can conjure up definitely helps; even if just some moral support.

Pardon the crappy iPhone pics. My camera's on the blink.



Add the egg...


...and blend. (Earth-shattering stuff here, people.)


I then added the vanilla, spices, salt, baking powder and baking soda...



Then the flour. Try not to over-mix.


Drop by teaspoonful onto the greased sheet pans and bake for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool on the sheet for 10+ minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. (Confession: I don't have a large enough cooling rack to actually make cookies; just a tiny, round one. I transfer to a paper towel. I know, I'm naughty.)

Finally, take beauty shots of the moist, bouncy, only-needs-frosting-if-you-want-it deliciousness. Or not. Your call.



Happy Halloween Hangover day, everyone! Time to hang up our hats and capes for another year...unless you're dressing like a Pilgrim for Thanksgiving. To which I say -- "Way to commit!"

1 comment:

  1. Oooh those sound yummy!! I love pumpkin cookies. I'm not much a cook but I can bake fairly well (as long I remember what's in the oven!). I love the cat in the background of the first pic, by the way ;)

    ReplyDelete