BY CHERYL ORR
It’s finally Fall!
I love autumn and all of its splendor, and I have succumbed to the pumpkin spice hysteria a little earlier than usual this year. I had my first pumpkin pie Blizzard from our DQ. I made my first pumpkin spice latte with wonderful Roanoke Roasting coffee, and I’m looking forward to my first Pumking beer.
Pumpkin is popular in both sweet and savory dishes from biscuits, pancakes, cakes, pies and breads to pastas, enchiladas, soups, and stews. A favorite for many locals are my sweet and savory ham biscuits made with my sweet potato or pumpkin angel biscuits, a recipe I have shared in the past.
Taking the time to roast a pumpkin for that tasty flesh is best but when time is of the essence canned pumpkin is a great substitute with a just a little sacrifice to taste and none to nutrients. Pumpkin is high in fiber, vitamin K, C and potassium and even contains protein.
Pumpkins are a member of the squash family and are grown around the world. Last year, roughly 27 tons were produced, and China led the way. Pumpkins are native to North America and one of the oldest plants our country’s ancestors domesticated. Anthropologists have data showing it was used by man as early as 7,500 BC.
I was craving a little pumpkin flavor and thought why not incorporate it into one of my cookie
recipes. This week, I have included my recipe for Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles. These are very similar to the Snickerdoodle recipe I created years ago when my kids were little and have shared in this column, but with the addition of the autumnal elements of warm spices and pumpkin. A little crisp on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside, these cookies are
indeed a treat.
Enjoy!
Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles
Makes 48 cookies
INGREDIENTSÂ
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 2 egg yolks, room temperature
- ½ cup pure pumpkin puree
- 2½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
- 1 ½ tablespoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cinnamon sugar mixture
PREPARATION
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment and set aside.
- Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl, whisk together, and set aside
- In a stand mixer cream together the butter and sugars. Beat in egg yolks, pumpkin
puree, vanilla, and corn syrup. Add flour mixture one cup at a time, stirring, and
scraping down sides of bowl, until well combined. - Using a 1 ½ tablespoon scoop, or spoons, form and then roll dough into balls with
your hands. Roll each dough ball in cinnamon sugar mixture and place about 2-inches
apart on prepared baking sheet. - Bake 12 minutes, rotating pan once, until barely showing color, puffed, and beginning
to crack on top. Cool on pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to a rack. Sprinkle top of
each cookie with more cinnamon sugar while warm. Store in an air-tight container.
