Heirloom Pumpkins

Heirloom Pumpkins

Heirloom Pumpkins

I was at my neighborhood Stop & Shop this weekend and I saw some really huge Heirloom Pumpkins in a variety of colors. I love the weird shapes and bumpy look to these pumpkins. When I started doing research on Pinterest on how to make the Heirloom Pumpkins, I was inspired by the Sweet Sugarbelle and Everyday Occasions blogs. I saved half of the dough from the Pumpkin Pie Spice Cookie recipe from my previous post, Autumn Cookies - Leaves and Acorns and made my own Pumpkin Pie Spice. Use any pumpkin cookie cutter you have.

The colors I did  - Heirloom Pumpkins

Pumpkin Pie Spice Sugar Cookie Recipe
Pumpkin Pie Spice
Ingredients
2 teaspoons Cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon Ginger

1/4 teaspoon Clove

1/4 teaspoon Allspice

Heirloom Pumpkins

Directions
Add spices in a small bowl and combine with a small spatula or fork.

Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter, softened

3/4 cup Light Brown Sugar, lightly packed

1/2 cup Turbinado Sugar

3/4 teaspoon Baking Powder

3/4 teaspoon Salt

3 1/2 teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice

1 Extra Large Egg

1 tablespoon Milk

2 3/4 cups Whole Wheat Flour

Some of the Pumpkin Pie Spice Sugar Cookies cooling

Directions
Using a stand or hand held mixer with paddle attachment on medium speed, cream together butter and light brown sugar until light and fluffy; about 3-4 minutes.

Add turbinado sugar and cream for 1 minute.

Add baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice; mix until incorporated.

Add egg and milk; beat well.

Add flour little by little, mixing until combined.

Reddish Orange still wet Heirloom Pumpkins; color got darker as they dried  (see pics above)

The dough will be soft.

Roll dough into a ball, cover in plastic wrap and chill in fridge for 1-2 hours.

Preheat oven to 365 degrees.

Lightly sprinkle some of the flour on work space and rolling pin. Roll out dough and cut shapes.

Light Peach heirloom pumpkins

Transfer to baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

Chill in freezer for 5 minutes. This will ensure cookies keep their shape.

Bake for 10-13 minutes or until the edges have slightly browned.

Cool in baking sheets for 2-3 minutes before transferring to cooling racks.

Let cookies cool completely.

Reddish Orange and Light Peach Heirloom Pumpkins

Royal Icing
Ingredients
4 Egg Whites

4 teaspoons Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed

6 cups Confectioners Sugar, sifted

Spray bottle with Water

Light Green/Blue Heirloom Pumpkins

Directions
In a medium size bowl, whisk together the egg whites and lemon juice.

Transfer to stand or hand held mixer with paddle attachment.

Slowly add sifted sugar and beat on low until smooth.

Step 1

Step 1: Close-up

You can spritz water 1-2 times at a time until you reach the right consistency. Watch the Joy of Baking (link at the end) video for both Flooding Consistency and Piping Consistency Royal Icing. If you prefer a recipe using Meringue Powder, it is also available at this link.

Step 2: Fill the center and then the sides

Step 2: connect the top and bottoms. Wait a few minutes then fill. Use the brown
Royal Icing to pipe/fill the top of the Pumpkin

I separated the icing in 5 plastic containers with lids for tinting with Wilton Gel Colors in Reddish Orange, Light Peach, Light Green/Blue, Tan and Brown. Please see the Everyday Occasions post for instructions on mixing the colors. I came up with a different color palette, but was not very precise when I mixed the colors together so I got different results. I have a lot to learn about mixing colors together.

Dip a toothpick in the gel and then into the icing and combine with a small spatula. Repeat until you reach the color you want. Use a clean toothpick each time so have plenty handy. Keep the other containers covered until you are ready to color. Royal Icing hardens fast so keep it covered when not in use.

Tan Heirloom Pumpkins

I transferred the icing immediately into Squeeze Bottles using a funnel to prevent it from spilling. I poured the piping consistency Royal Icing into small squeeze bottles leaving what I needed to fill/flood the cookie in the container. I then made the fill/flood consistency with water using the spritz bottle by spritzing 1-2 times, stirring with spatula and then repeating until it was smooth. I immediately transferred the Royal Icing into large squeeze bottles, which have a wider tip perfect for filling/flooding cookies.

Light Green/Blue and Tan Heirloom Pumpkins

Be sure to keep the squeeze bottle tips covered. If the Royal Icing hardens due to exposure to air, spray a little bit of water and shake bottle well holding the tip with your finger. Test the icing consistency on a paper towel before decorating the cookie.

I did the outlines in sections waiting 2 minutes before filling/flooding each one to get the outline effect on the Heirloom Pumpkins.

Use a paint brush or cookie stick to reach edges and use the tip of a toothpick to pop any air bubbles.

Let dry for 5-6 hours or overnight.

Heirloom Pumpkins drying

I use the Pumpkin Pie Spice Sugar Cookie recipe from Life's a Batch: 

http://lifesabatch.com/?p=1013

I use the Royal Icing Recipe from Joy of Baking:
http://www.joyofbaking.com/RoyalIcing.html

Everyday Occasions was my inspiration for the Heirloom Pumpkins:
http://jennysteffens.blogspot.com/2011/10/heirloom-pumpkin-sugar-cookies-tips-for.html

Sweet Subarbelle was my inspiration to make the outlines of the Heirloom Pumpkins:
http://www.sweetsugarbelle.com/2012/09/the-great-pumpkin-cookie-makeover/

Enjoy!

-Sophia/Two Frys