Heirloom Pumpkin Cookies

Heirloom Pumpkin Cookies

Heirloom Pumpkins

Heirloom Pumpkins

At this time of year pumpkins of all shapes, sizes and colors are everywhere you turn. I love the bumpy ones and wanted to make Heirloom Pumpkins this season. I made some back in 2015 (see here) but tried to make them look different in color and texture this time. Also, the recipe is different and adapted from Bake at 350° (link below). The dough is Pumpkin Pie Spice and I increased the amount in each of the spices, reduced the baking powder, and added a little salt. The spices add the perfect balance and taste, and the cookies are soft and chewy. See recipe below.

Yield: 2 Dozen Cookies (Depending on cutter size)

Do the center outline and then each side outline and fill after 1/2 hour

Ingredients
3 cups King Arthur All Purpose Flour

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1 teaspoon Coarse Salt

1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar

1/2 cup Vanilla Sugar

1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon Freshly Grated Nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon Ground Allspice

1/4 teaspoon Ground Cloves

1 cup (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter, softened and cut into 8 pieces

1 Large Egg

1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

Filling the cookie

Directions
Whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and salt; set aside.

Cream butter and sugars in a hand held mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment on low; 1-2 minutes. Do not overmix.

Scrape sides of bowl with spatula and mix for 10 seconds.

Add egg, and vanilla extract and mix until incorporated; about 1 minute.

Scrape sides of bowl and mix for 5 seconds.

Filled in the second and fourth section; time to dry

With mixer on low speed, slowly add flour mixture and incorporate. The dough is ready when it begins to clump around paddle attachment.

Cut in half and roll dough into 2 balls, cover with plastic wrap and chill in fridge for 1-3 hours or overnight. I chilled for 2 hours.

Heat oven to 350°F.

Use two sheets of parchment paper with dough in between and roll with rolling pin until desired thickness is reached.

Cut out pumpkin shapes.

Place onto cookies sheets lined with parchment paper, and put in freezer for 20 minutes. The cookies hold their shape when you do this.

Bake 9-13 minutes or until the edges have slightly browned. My cookies baked in 13 minutes. Oven temps vary so check the cookies at the 9 minute mark.

Make sure cookie sheets cool in between baking. I place them in the freezer for a few minutes and then place cut-out dough on cold cookie sheets lined with parchment paper, and put in freezer for 20 minutes. This is important. Do not use hot cookie sheets or the cookies will spread and lose their shape.

Wait 2-3 minutes before transferring cookies with cookie spatula to cooling racks to complete cooling, about 1 hour.

Decorate once the cookies are cool to the touch.

I used Gold Sanding Sugar for the stems.

Cookies getting iced

Royal Icing
Ingredients
4 Egg Whites

4 teaspoons Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed

6 cups Powdered/Confectioners' Sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon Clear Vanilla Extract

1-3 teaspoons Water

Cookies iced, need to do stems with the ivory color

Directions
In a large bowl, sift powdered sugar, set aside.

In a bowl, add egg whites.

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

Transfer to stand or hand held mixer with paddle attachment and mix on high for 1-2 minutes.

Add vanilla extract and mix for 5-10 seconds.

With mixer speed on low, slowly add powdered sugar and beat on low until smooth.

If needed, you may add 1 teaspoon of water at a time until you reach the right consistency. I used a flood icing consistency for this recipe.

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.

Pumpkins cooling

Separate the icing in plastic containers with lids according to how many colors you need.

I use AmeriColor Soft Gel Paste Food Color in Orange, Ivory and mixed Blue Sky, Lemon Yellow, and Orange to get the Olive Green color. 

Dip a toothpick in the gel and then into the icing and combine with a small spatula. Repeat until you reach the color desired.

Use a clean toothpick each time you dip so have plenty handy.

Keep the containers covered until you are ready to color.

Transfer the icing immediately into squeeze bottles.

Pumpkin cutter and a pumpkin cookie

If the royal icing hardens due to exposure to air, use a spray bottle and spitz a little bit of water, and shake well holding the tip with your finger.

Test the icing consistency on a paper towel before decorating the cookie. Be careful doing this since you do not want to make the icing to end up watery and break up.

I did the outlines in sections (see pics) waiting 1/2 hour 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. This is essential so the icing does not stick together when you stack them or place in cookie tins or gift bags.

If you are baking and it is humid, allow more time for the cookies to dry.

For the Brown Sugar and Spice Cut-Out Cookies visit Bake at 350:
http://www.bakeat350.net/2009/11/brown-sugar-and-spice-cut-out-cookies.html

For the Royal Icing Recipe and Video Tutorial, visit Joy of Baking:
http://www.joyofbaking.com/RoyalIcing.html

Enjoy!

-Sophia/Two Frys