Pumpkin Spice Latte Cookie!

Pumpkin Spice Latte Cookies

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon  baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice *

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 3/4 cups pumpkin puree (canned or fresh)

FROSTING

1 cup butter, softened

8 cups powdered sugar

6 tablespoons milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

additional pumpkin pie spice for sprinkle

* I made my own spice blend out of  2 tablespoons cinnamon, 2 teaspoons nutmeg, 2 teaspoons ginger, 1 1/2 teaspoons allspice and 1/8 teaspoon cloves.

Preheat oven to 375

In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, instant coffee, salt and pumpkin pie spice.

Cream butter and sugar together in a mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.

Add eggs one at a time. Then add vanilla.

Add one third of the dry mixture, alternately with half the pumpkin.  Blend until thoroughly combined.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto a parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until lightly browned on the bottom. I used the big cookie scoop and had to bake them a little longer.

Transfer to a rack to cool

When cool frost!

To make frosting:

Combine butter and powdered sugar. Combine milk and vanilla in a small bowl. Add milk mixture to butter and sugar. Beat until well combined.

 Adding more milk if the consistency is too thick.

Frost each cookie and sprinkle with additional pumpkin pie spice.







Date Half Moons

Date Half Moons

1/2 cup butter, softened

3 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 cup flour

1 cup chopped dates

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 teaspoon grated orange rind

Powdered sugar for dusting

Beat butter and cream cheese until smooth and well combined. Add flour, beat until a nice dough forms.  Shape into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap.  Chill for at least one hour.

In a medium sauce pan, over medium heat, cook dates, sugar and water.

Cook until dates are thickened and it all looks like mush. If you use whole dates you chop up yourself you need to add more water and give it more time.

It does taste good, despite the look!

Remove the dates from heat, add walnuts and orange rind. Let cool to room temperature.

Take the dough out of the refrigerator. Divide the dough in half, place one portion on a lightly floured surface, roll out very thin, about 1/8 of an inch. Cut dough with a 2 1/2 inch circle cutter.

Spoon about 1/2 a teaspoon of the date mixture into the center of each dough round.

Fold over the dough and press edges together with a fork. To ensure a tighter seal, you can take a bit of water on your finger and moisten half the edge of the dough before folding over and pressing with a fork.

Place half moons on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

Bake cookies at 375 for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. When they are still warm from the oven dust with powdered sugar.

Makes 3 dozen, just.

Oatmeal Carmel Apple

Oatmeal Carmel Apple Cookies

1 cup butter

1 1/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon Penzey's Cake Spice or cinnamon

2 1/2 cups flour

3 cups rolled oats

1 cup grated apple - I used granny smith

1 cup Kraft Carmel bits

Preheat oven to 350

Line baking sheets with parchment

Cream butter, sugars and vanilla till light and fluffy

Beat in eggs one at a time, until well blended

In a separate bowl mix flour, baking powder, salt, Cake spice (or cinnamon). Add this to butter mixture and beat till well combined.

Beat in oats, apple and carmel bits

Scoop dough with a medium cookies scoop and place two inches apart on prepared cookie sheets

Bake for about 15 minutes, until lightly browned. 

Let sit on parchment paper for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Carmel Apple Cookies

Carmel Apple Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 7.4 ounce box of Spiced Apple Cider drink mix (DO NOT use sugar free!)

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 cups all purpose flour

Kraft carmel bits

Cream butter and sugar, salt and all 10 cider packets till light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add vanilla.

In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon.  Add that to the butter mixture. Beat till well combined.

Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper -- really you want this

Scoop out ball of dough with a medium scoop. Place dough balls onto prepared sheets. Put a large thumbprint in each ball. Fill them cavity with the carmel bits

Bake about 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown. They will flatten out.







Nan Khatai for Diwalli

I was trying to find a cookie from India for the celebration of Diwalli. Diwalli is the festival of light. Traditional gifts for the holiday are candles and sweets.  Cookies do not seem to be an Indian sort of thing. Carrot Halwa, a carrot pudding is really good, but not a cookie. Galub Jamum is wonderful but they are like doughnut holes soaked in a cardamon syrup. They are really really good. Lon loves them, but they do not fit the blog title. I found this recipe on a couple of different web sites and I merged them a little. They are good. Especially with tea.

Nan Khatai

1/3 cup flour

1/3 cup semolina

1/2 cup graham flour *

pinch of baking soda -scant 1/8th teaspoon

1/4 teaspoon of cardamon

1/2 cup unsalted butter

2/3 cup sugar

sliced almonds

chopped pistachios

chopped dried coconut (it is called coconut powder at the Indian grocer, but it is little pieces of coconut)

*it called for gram flour, but I used the graham flour as that is what I had. It added a bit of a grainy crunchier texture.

Preheat oven to 375

Line a baking sheet with parchment

In a small mixing bowl, combine all-purpose flour, semolina, graham flour, baking soda and cardamon.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar for about 4 minutes till light and fluffy.

Add flour mixture to the creamed mixture, till it holds together.  Also using your hands will help it hold together.

I used the medium scoop, and then flattened them in with my hands.

Once they were on the parchment lined baking sheet, I flattened them with my hand, then used a butter knife and made a grid pattern.  I sprinkled them with the pistachios, sliced almonds, and some of the dried coconut.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until the edges are brown.  Let them cool on the sheet for a few minutes before removing to the rack to cool completely.

Makes about 12.





Next time I will search out gram flour. Might make a smoother cookie, but these are good.

Bonus Brownies!

Truffle Brownies

1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks)

1 3/4 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups Hershey's syrup. (regular or dark!)

1 1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup chopped nuts (optional, of course)

Sprinkles!

Preheat oven to 350

Grease a 13x9 baking pan, set aside

In the bowl of an electric mixer cream butter and sugar until well blended. I do this for about 10 minutes. 

Add eggs and vanilla. Beat well. Add syrup, beat until well combined

Stir together flour, cocoa and baking soda

Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, mixing well. Stir in nuts.

Spread into prepared pan.

Bake 35 minutes. Remove from oven and add sprinkles. LOTS of sprinkles!  Return to oven and bake another 10 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack. 

Makes about 36 brownies.

These are the brownies I took to the fire station when the Tiger Scouts went on their GoSeeIt.





There is Peanut Butter in My Chocolate!

Chocolate Cookies with Reese's Mini Cups

2 cups all purpose flour

2/3 cup cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 large eggs

2 cups Reese's mini cups (2! 8 ounce bags!)

Preheat oven to 325

Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.

Beat butter, sugars and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add flour mixture. Blend well. I beat in the reese's mini cups, (less than a minute of beating) some of them broke open and leaving swirls of peanut better and chocolate through the dough.

Using the medium cookie scoop drop onto parchment lined baking sheets.

Bake for 11 to 14 minutes or until cookies puff up and bit and the center is set. Cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Together the cookies make a nice presentation! The swirls of peanut butter in the chocolate and the chocolate in the peanut butter. Looks good! And tasty too!