I still have lots of pumpkin leftover from when I made Pumpkin Scones last weekend so as promised, here is another pumpkin recipe!
How to Use the Pumpkin this time?
I knew that I wanted to make some kind of cookie with the pumpkin this time. When I was reading over recipes for pumpkin cookies, the main complaint was that the cookies ended up very cake-like because of the added pumpkin. I wanted a firmer cookie. I have seen lots of apple-pie cookies on Instagram that look like mini apple pies, so I decided to try something similar.
How to achieve the flavour and texture that I wanted?
I found two recipes that were similar to what I wanted. The first was from Betty Crocker. This recipe used as packaged sugar cookie dough and filled them with a pumpkin and cream cheese mixture in a similar way to the way I do Cookie Cups. I read through the reviews and many people said that the cookies were good the first day, but then became too soft after that. I found another recipe from Wyse Guide that used a sweet tart dough that was baked and filled with a pumpkin pie filling. I decided to combine elements from both recipes and see what I could do.
First, I started with a tart dough recipe that I have and doubled it, so that I would have enough to make both the cookie bottoms and the ring that would make the pie crust. I used two sizes of cookie cutters, one for the circumference of the cookie and one to cut out the middle of the top so that I had a ring for the pie crust. For the filling, I decided to do a pumpkin and cream cheese mixture that would be more sturdy as the Betty Crocker recipe did. To that mixture, I added my own blend of spices and some vanilla. I should have creamed the cream cheese before adding the rest of the ingredients, but I was making a lot of silly mistakes yesterday and threw everything into the bowl at once. That left me with some chunks of cream cheese I couldn’t get rid of, no matter how much I beat the mixture. It still tasted great though!
I baked the cookie for 15 minutes to set it before adding the filling. Since I wasn’t sure if the filling would spread or not, I put just enough to fill the centre. I should have put more! The filling didn’t spread at all and firmed up really nicely when baking. Although you could definitely taste pumpkin pie flavours, it would have been nice to have a bit more. I had leftover filling after I made them, so I definitely could have added more.
I had some smaller rounds leftover after cutting the centre out of the cookie tops so I brushed them with the leftover egg white and sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar then baked them until dry. They were delicious as well! A two-for-one bake!
Pumpkin Pie Cookies
With a shortbread-like crust and a spiced pumpkin filling, these cookies taste just like and individual pumpkin pie! Serve them as is, or top them with a dollop of cream cheese frosting. You will have extra dough from the middles that you cut out of the top, which you can brush with egg white and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar for an extra treat! You will need two cookie cutters for this cookie, I used one that was 2.8 in/7.2 cm round and one that was 2.2 in/5.6 cm round.
Ingredients
-
For the Dough
- For the Pumpkin Pie Filling
Instructions
- Whisk egg yolk, cream and vanilla together in a liquid measuring cup.
- In a food processor, process flour, sugar and salt until combined.
- Scatter the butter over the flour and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, about 15 pulses.
- With the machine running, add the egg mixture and continue to process until the dough just comes together around the blade, about 10-15 seconds.
- Divide the dough in half and then turn out onto sheets of plastic wrap. Shape the dough into disks and wrap tightly. Chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 375F/190 c
- Remove dough from the fridge and let soften for 5-10 minutes. Roll one disk to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out circles with your larger cutter, re-rolling as needed until you have 18-20 circles. Place circles on baking sheets spread evenly apart. Put baking sheets in the fridge to chill while you roll out the second disk.
- Roll out the second disk to about 1/4 inch thick and cut out circles with the larger cutter and then cut out the middle with the smaller cutter so that you create a ring that will be your pie crust. Put the centres on a baking sheet to bake later. They can be chilled in the fridge while you bake your pumpkin pie cookies.
- Mix the egg white with a bit of water and brush over the surface of your cookie bottoms. Place the cut-out cookie edges on top and press lightly to secure.
- Bake cookies for 15 minutes, rotating trays halfway through.
- Meanwhile, make the pumpkin pie filling. Beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add the pumpkin, egg and spices and beat to combine. Chill in the fridge while you wait for the cookies to bake.
- After cookies have baked, you can fill the centres with the pumpkin pie filling. Use 1-2 tbsp of filling per cookie. The filling doesn't spread, so put on as much as you can without it overflowing.
- Bake the cookies for an additional 8 minutes until the filling is set and the cookie is golden brown.
- Let cookies cool completely on rack. The cookies may be served as is or topped with a dollop of cream cheese frosting. Store in the fridge.
- For the extra centre cookies, I mixed 1 tsp granulated sugar with 1/2 tsp cinnamon. I brushed the tops of each cookie with the egg white and then sprinkled them liberally with the cinnamon sugar. Bake for about 13 minutes until the cookies are dried out.
