Last night (after an encouraging FB post from my cousin Joy), I made a the batter for these Pumpkin Molasses cookies. Mine didn't turn out quite as crackly as the picture leads you to believe, but they are quite moist and very yummy. Peter described them as a little round pumpkin bread.
I modified the recipe slightly, but otherwise basically the same. I think if I made again, I would try splitting the flour with whole wheat and regular flour.
Pumpkin Molasses Cookies
YIELD: 24 cookies (mine made closer to 36, although I probably made mine a bit smaller)
INGREDIENTS:
2 1/3 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 tsp black pepper (I ommitted the pepper, seemed weird)
8 Tbs butter, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup molasses
2/3 cup pumpkin puree
1 large egg (I added 2 eggs instead of one, just because)
1/2 cup sugar, for rolling
DIRECTIONS:
1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie
spice, ginger and cinnamon.
2. Working with a stand mixer, beat the butter on medium
speed until smooth and creamy. Add the brown sugar, molasses, and pumpkin puree
and beat for 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the
egg and beat for 1 minute more. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry
ingredients, mixing until the flour and spices disappear. If flour remains in
the bottom of the bowl, mix the last of the dry ingredients by hand to avoid
over beating. You will have a very soft dough.
3. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 30 minutes, or refrigerate for at least 1 hour. The
dough is sticky, so the longer time it can chill the easier it is to work with. I just left the dough in the fridge overnight, mostly because I was falling asleep. It worked just fine in the morning.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with
parchment paper.
5. Put the sugar in a small bowl. Working with one packet of
dough at a time, divide it into 12 pieces, and roll each piece into a ball.
Roll the balls in the sugar and use a the bottom of a glass to press down on
the cookies until they are between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick. Transfer to cookie
sheets.
6. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 12-14 minutes,
or until the top feels set to the touch. Remove baking sheets from the oven.
Let cookies cool 5 minutes on the sheets before transferring them to a cooling
rack.
7. Repeat with second batch of dough.
Having a excess of yummy apples from my Farmers Box (we use Tonnemaker Farms), I made one of Peter and my's favorite cakes, my Auntie Mel's Apple Cake.
Auntie Mel's German Apple Cake
Modified with love
3 large eggs
1 c. oil (I use canola)
2 c. sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour (my modification)
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. vanilla
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
4 c. diced apples (be generous, this cake is fantastic if FILLED with apples)
Optional ½ to 1 c. walnuts (I dont' use any!)
Beat eggs and oil till foamy. Add sugar, flour, cinnamon, vanilla, soda and salt. Mix well with a mixer. Add apples (and nuts). Pour into greased pan (13 x 9) for 60 min. Bake at 350. If you are feeling indulgent (which really, why wouldn't you?), when cool, frost with icing below.
Icing
1 3 oz pkg cream cheese
1 ½ T. melted butter
½ t. vanilla
¾ to 1 c. powdered sugar
Combine until creamy. Frost cake when cool.
Perfectly delicious on a cool fall day.
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