the review: pumpkin cookies

There is a bakery in the Pike Place Market in Seattle that makes the most amazing pumpkin cookies. These cookies are monsters – bigger than my hand – and taste like the top of the softest muffin. I love them. When I worked in downtown Seattle a thousand years ago, I would sometimes walk over to the market during the middle of the day for a cookie break. Or I would walk past the bakery on my way home from work to pick up a cookie for dinner. Ah, the single days when a monster sized cookie for dinner was not only appropriate but normal.

Yesterday, it rained. It was a good old autumn in Seattle 40 degree drizzly day. Except that I was in Idaho and hours away from a yummy, soft pumpkin cookie. I decided to scrap the majority of my to-do list and instead made pumpkin cookies. I made three and a half dozen cookies. There were two lone cookies sitting on my counter this morning when the kids left for school. I’d say this recipe was a hit.

This is a simple cookie recipe for which you don’t even need to get out your mixer. Cream butter, add sugar. Add canned pumpkin, egg, and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients (standard flour, baking soda, spices). Drop onto cookie sheet and bake. Done. Oh, but there is frosting. Just your basic powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla glaze. It’s really optional. I put it on just for kicks, but I think I prefer the cookies without. Or maybe if you used brown butter in the glaze? Yep. That would be good.

Make the cookies. And when you have a half a can of pumpkin left, make these pumpkin zucchini muffins for your freezer. Excellent for kids’ lunches or days when you are late in the morning. Or you could make the best pumpkin scones in the world. I’ll probably be revisiting those soon.

I opted to use my extra pumpkin to make cinnamon rolls yesterday, which I put in the fridge ready to go, then baked this morning. There are no photos of the finished product because they were gone so fast. I didn’t get a whole one, but did get to try a corner. These are not decadent. In fact, if you are at all familiar with recipes from Cooking Light, you will not be surprised that this recipe is an adaptation of a Cooking Light recipe. Not much sugar, not much butter (by cinnamon roll standards), and whole wheat flour mixed in. Overall, I didn’t feel guilty giving these to my kids for breakfast during the middle of the week. And despite my lackluster response to them, Gus took a break from his typical morning antics to proclaim that we should definitely make these again. Lucky for Gus there’s another pan in the freezer for this weekend at GG’s house. 

(P.S. If you aren't into pumpkin, last week we made these oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Delish.)