SMS - Spiced Pumpkin Cookie Cakes

Sweet Melissa Sunday is here again and we are definitely into Fall. Debbie of Every Day Blessings of The Five Dee’s chose Spiced Pumpkin Cookie Cakes and these were yummy. The recipe is time consuming but I make my own pumpkin puree every Fall so the recipe was an opener to get my puree done.I know Melissa states to bake her sugar pumpkins at 400 degrees F. for about 1 1/2 hours but I choose to bake my pumpkins at 350 degrees F. for the same 1 1/2 hours.
I usually bake 6 sugar pumpkins for pumpkin pies, cheesecakes, breads, and these cookies. Each pumpkin weighs around 5 to 6 pounds.
Melissa did not mention on p. 197 for fresh pumpkin puree to: Make sure and strain the fresh pumpkin puree after processing in the food processor or blender. Pumpkins contain a 'lot' of water and need straining for several hours.
The finished pumpkin puree is ready to now be used immediately, refrigerated for several days or measured and put into Ziploc bags for the freezer (to be used when you like; already pre-measured).
Looking out my window, all the maple trees look gorgeous with brilliant oranges, reds, yellows, browns, and (because of several blustery windstorms the last several days) slightly bare branches.Squirrels, chipmunks and cute little birds of various types are having a hay day in the yard looking for seeds. I love baking and watching out the window on the weekends to see all the activity.
Melissa's cookies were fun to make and I always enjoy using a pastry bag with different tips for interesting designs.
This cookie dough is not really meant for a tip design because the cookies seem to spread and flatten out slightly when baking. The design flattens out with the cookie too.I did have trouble with the baked cookie being a little too moist. I ended up spraying wax paper with a little PAM to keep the tops of the cookies from sticking to the waxed paper while piping on the filling (which I colored orange for Halloween spirit).As you can see, very cute but extremely moist, which is not a bad thing but I have mine in the refrigerator right now to see if the cookie and the filling stiffen up just enough. I need them to stiffen up so I can share them with all my co-workers tomorrow. Hope they love them as much as I do and thank you Dee for choosing this recipe! You can find the recipe for the cookies at Dees' blog here or jump on line and order yourself a copy from Amazon.com. To see all the Sweet Melissa Sunday baking teams variations on the Spiced Pumpkin Cookie Cakes, check this link out and be ready to want to bake your own batch!
I also baked Chai Spiced Pumpkin Bread (found at Spork and Foon Blog ~ such a fun blog too)
To make the healthy version of this bread, substitute the butter for 1/2 cup applesauce. Also, I found that the healthier version took longer to cook, about 1 hour and 20 minutes.(makes 1 loaf)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter (softened) (***or 1/2 cup applesauce)
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 can of pumpkin puree
2 black tea bags steeped in 1/4 cup hot milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon Chai Spice (optional. The McCormick brand sells this at the supermarket.)
pinch of black pepper
pinch of all spice
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350F. Grease a loaf pan and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract. Fold in the pumpkin puree and the milky tea (make sure the tea has completely cooled before adding). Set aside.

In another bowl mix together the all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Add the spices and whisk to incorporate.

Add the flour mixture into the pumpkin mix and gently fold until just combined. Pour the mixture into the loaf pan.
Bake for 55-60 minutes at 350F (for the healthier version, you may need to bake longer, up to 1 hour and 20 minutes. If you don't want the bread to brown any more, tent some aluminum foil over the top.)

Comments

Anonymous said…
Your cookie cakes look yummy. How cool that you made your own pumpkin puree.
Flourchild said…
Your cookies look good and the chai bread looks wonderful too. I love the swirly edges on the filling!
margot said…
Your cookies look wonderful, kudos on the fancy piping job! That's wise to make a lot of pumpkin puree and freeze it; it's kind of a mess endeavor, so might as only make the mess once. That pumpkin chai bread is going on my to-bake list!
Nina said…
wow it's so awesome that you made your own puree! Props!
Your cookies look delicious. I don't have a pastry bag, that would have been fun to play with. Thanks for the pumpkin baking tips, I have never done that but looks fairly simple. Something to keep tucked away. Anyway, thanks for joining in this week. I loved them.
Unknown said…
Great job on your cookie cakes! They look wonderful! Mine were really moist too and kept sticking to everything so I feel your pain :)

Thanks for the tips on making pumpkin puree! I made some last year but haven't gotten around to it yet this year and I definitely want to.
Rosy said…
I think the lack of sufficient straining is what caught me out! I really like the slightly patterned finish on yours. And the halloween icing is perfect!
Karin said…
The orange icing is cute! I loved how moist these cakes were- I'm not a huge fan of "cookie cakes". I think I loved them because they really were more like miniature cakes than soft cookies.
Eliana said…
Awesome pumpkin creations Shandy.
Spike said…
So impressed that you made the pumpkin instead of buying canned!
k.a.r.e.n said…
Your cookies look great!

BTW, i left you a message on the SMS homepage about your SMS selection.
Cakespy said…
These look ridiculously delicious! I think I have to try this one.
petite nyonya said…
Both the pumpkin cookies and bread are just perfect with tea! How I too wish I could have a view of mother nature when looking out from my kitchen window. So lovely!
Jeannette said…
great idea tinting the frosting orange!! i'll have to give that a try!
FJKramer said…
I don't know which I want to try first the cookies or the chai pumpkin bread. they both look wonderful!
Karine said…
Chai pumpkin bread? That is an amazing idea! Thanks for sharing :)
TeaLady said…
I made Teanna's Chai Pumpkin bread. Really good.

SMS cookie cakes look great.
Kaitlin said…
I love that you make your own pumpkin puree! Now that's dedication!

I also think your cookie cakes look just perfect-nice and even thinness, and I love the orange icing.
Anonymous said…
Those pumpkin cookies look fabulous! I love the Halloween spirit too! I love everything pumpkin but have never tried making my own pumpkin puree.
How awesome to have the window view with mother nature all around you!
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