Soft Pumpkin Cookie Recipe with Homemade Pumpkin Puree (2024)
Recipes
ByChristina
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These soft pumpkin cookies are bomb. It’s an old fashioned dessert that grandma would be proud of! You’re going to be asking for more!
You can make pumpkin cookies with homemade pumpkin puree or used canned.
I love using pumpkins with my kids and decorating with them, but I HATE wasting food. I don’t like buying them and not using them. We roast our pumpkins and make our own homemade pumpkin puree. Then I freeze it in the freezer in 2 cup portions so it’s ready for recipes. Here are a ton of other pumpkin recipes to make with kids.
We can use it to add nutrients and fiber to our food all year. It’s a great idea! This time we made yummy pumpkin cookies with our puree.
Pumpkin puree cookies
These pumpkin puree cookies are so soft and tender and the glaze on top makes them the perfect sweetness.
First step to make pumpkin puree, cut the pumpkin in half.
Second step, scoop out all the seeds and junk in the middle.
You can wash the seeds and soak them in brine and cook them. They are delicious. You can compost the stringy goop in the center too. Click here to see how to make your own yummy pumpkin seeds.
Set your oven to 350-400 degrees and lay the pumpkin halves on a cookie sheet cut side down. Bake them until fork tender. The time will depend on the size of the pumpkins. You can use pie pumpkins or even big jack o lantern pumpkins, but pie pumpkins have a more concentrated flavor and smoother texture. We use both. Like I said, I hate waste.
If I have a pumpkin that goes past its prime before it’s time to cook them up, I will set it out on the outside of the garden fence and let it decompose there. Sometimes animals will come and eat them. In the spring, some pumpkin plants will come up on their own. I love the idea of plants planting themselves naturally.
Fourth step, skin and process.
The skins will slide right off the pumpkin halves when they have cooled. Then throw the chunks in your blender or food processor and process until smooth. You can add a tablespoon of water if you need to loosen it up a little.
This year, when we baked our first pumpkin, we made some yummy pumpkin cookies. The kids loved them. I don’t use any cinnamon because I’m seriously allergic to it, even the smell. I personally think pumpkin flavor is good all on its own, but I’ve been allergic to cinnamon my whole life so I haven’t spent much time eating it.
Take your pumpkin puree and measure out two cups and store them in a ziplock back or mason jar with plenty of headspace. Then your puree is at the ready for your recipes. Another great idea is to freeze it in ice cube trays.
Once it’s frozen, pop them out and store them in an airtight container. Then you can use a cube or two or three as a hidden ingredient in many things. Soups, stews, and casseroles are a great place to boost nutrients with 3 or 4 cubes of pumpkin but will never be detected by picky eaters. Trust me, I’m a professional and you can be too!
Soft, tasty, cake like pumpkin cookies with a light glaze.
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time20 minutesmins
Total Time35 minutesmins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: pumpkin cookies
Servings: 24
Author: Christina Kamp
Ingredients
2 1/2Cflour
1tspbaking powder
1tspbaking soda
1/2tspsea salt
1/2Csoft butter
1 1/2Craw sugar(or white if you don't have raw)
1Chomemade pumpkin puree
1egg
2tspvanilla
2Cpowdered sugar
4Tmilk
1Tmelted butter
1tspvanilla
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and raw sugar.
Add pumpkin, egg, and 2 teaspoons vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy.
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. If you want to use Gina’s spices, you could add them now, cinnamon, nutmeg and ground cloves.
Mix into wet ingredients.
Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven.
Cool cookies.
To Make Glaze: Combine confectioners’ sugar, milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla.
Canned pumpkin and pumpkin puree are the same thing, and you'll often see the terms used interchangeably in recipes and cookbooks. Unlike pumpkin pie mix, canned pumpkin does not have any spices, sugars, or other additives. In many cases, the only ingredient is pumpkin.
Roasting these pieces in the oven will make the flesh soft and sweet. Puree this roasted flesh in a food processor or blender and you have pumpkin essence which serves as a base for dozens of amazing fall recipes. The puree can be used to make pumpkin bread muffins pancakes and waffles.
Not only does pumpkin purée act as a sweetener, a creamy moisturizer, and a fat substitute in everything from muffins to soup — but it also tastes delicious in everything!
Fresh pumpkin is the ideal alternative for recipes that call for solid-pack canned pumpkin. To make pumpkin puree, first make sure you're grabbing the right kind of pumpkin. Look for pumpkins labeled as pie, sugar pie or baking pumpkins (regular carving pumpkins don't fit the bill here!).
Fresh: Squashy/pumpkiny, subtle almost herbaceous flavor. Regular Canned: Deep, slightly intense unique flavor. Organic Canned: More similar to the fresh stuff than the regular canned, but with more flavor than homemade.
How Many Cups in a Can of Pumpkin, Really? Fifteen ounces of canned pumpkin is just shy of 2 cups (16 ounces would be 2 cups). By comparison, a 3-pound pie pumpkin will likely give you enough puree for a recipe that calls for a can of pumpkin.
Is Pumpkin Puree the Same as Pure Pumpkin? Yes, canned pumpkin can be labeled as 100% pure pumpkin or just as pumpkin puree. They are the same product. Both canned pumpkin puree and pie filling are useful, shelf-stable ingredients that can help speed up your kitchen prep time.
Real pumpkin puree is actually pretty light in color (not dark orange!) and is very sweet and a bit watery. You'll need to strain your puree through a cheesecloth to remove excess water if you are going to bake it into a pie—I actually recommend sticking with the canned stuff for pies.
larger pumpkins can have less puree if they are hollow. Some small pumpkin varieties have more flesh. A large Halloween pumpkin, intended for carving, usually has only 2 inches of flesh. Still, it yields a great deal of goodness.
Yes, dogs can eat pumpkin and it is actually often added to dog foods. Check the label of some dog treats and you may find pumpkin on the ingredient list there too. However, if you are feeding fresh pumpkin, you will need to be careful about which part you're feeding as the stem and leaves are covered in prickly hairs.
Make-ahead: Store homemade pumpkin puree in food-safe containers in the fridge for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months. Before cutting in half, if the pumpkin doesn't sit steady, slice a small bit away from the bottom so that it does. Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
Pumpkin puree is simply mashed pumpkin (not to be confused with pumpkin pie filling, which includes pumpkin pie spice and sugar). The Department of Agriculture classifies it as a low-acid canned good, and advises that with proper storage on the shelf or in your pantry, pumpkin puree can last from two to five years.
Your best bet is using canned butternut squash as a substitute for canned pumpkin purée because the consistency, flavor, and color matches closely with pumpkin.
For sweet recipes such as cakes, muffins, and bread, applesauce can replace canned pumpkin using a 1:1 ratio. However, because applesauce is sweeter and less dense, there may be a need to reduce other sweeteners in the recipe.
Aside from giving your baked goods a seasonal touch, pumpkin puree is excellent for replacing eggs. Use 1/4 cup of pumpkin puree for each egg, says Traci Weintraub, chef and founder of Gracefully Fed, a restaurant in Los Angeles.
Introduction: My name is Mr. See Jast, I am a open, jolly, gorgeous, courageous, inexpensive, friendly, homely person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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