Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Some people designate certain foods for specific seasons of the year. For example, soup season typically begins in mid-fall and lasts until the end of winter. Who really wants hot soup on a +100 humid summer afternoon?

I am all for consuming foods during their peak season (um, tomatoes really aren't suppose to be red and available ALL year people... think about that). However, I am a sucker for cookies and a sucker for the fall. Hence, I proceeded to make some of the best Pumpkin Spice Cookies.

via My Spice Sage Blog

You've got nutmeg, cinnamon, ground cloves, vanilla, sugar, pumpkin, and... um do I really need to go on?

Pumpkin Spice Cookies (from allrecipes.com)
Ingredients - Cookies
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ingredients - Glaze
2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.
3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then drizzle glaze with fork.

To Make Glaze: Combine confectioners' sugar, milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add milk as needed, to achieve drizzling consistency. I actually cut this in 1/2 and only glazed a few because these are great even without the extra sugar.

This recipe is great if you have left over pumpkin puree. Why do you have this sitting around your house? Probably because you just made pumpkin banana bread AND pumpkin cinnamon chip muffins, and you still have some of that yummy fall spice puree in your fridge.

It is begging you to eat it and think wonderful fall thoughts even in March.

Until Next Time,

powerkat

Homemade Biscotti

This past weekend I was craving tea and biscotti to accompany me while I was sifting through my old piles of artwork from years ago.

Ok, you got me. I really just wanted biscotti and an excuse from cleaning out the clutter of memories before moving down to southern California.

I am of the mindset that if you are going to eat sweets, you must make them or the whole wonderful-ness is loss. You never crave store-bought sweets. When you leave a dinner party you never think, "wow, I really need another helping of the overly sugary, fake tasting pie". No, you crave and think about the homemade sweets. They have been made with sweat, love, and possibly blood in order to satisfy a sweet tooth. Hence, my Saturday search for homemade biscotti.

I fell upon this recipe on allrecipes.com (my go-to site) and it was so easy! All of the ingredients were common staples in the kitchen, minus the sliced almonds, and the process was easy as 1, 2, 3. The only alteration I made was using less chocolate. 'She said what?!' I did a quick taste test before adding the chocolate and these are so good because of the hint of orange zest that you can get away with less chocolate.

Enjoy!

PS: There are no pictures from my escapade because I was so focused on making these and then eating them. My stomach apologizes. 

Biscotti Toscani

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup butter
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 teaspoons orange zest
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg  this could be replaced with cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips  I would recommend half of this amount
• 1/2 cup toasted almond pieces

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour a large baking sheet.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, vanilla, almond extract, and zest. Combine flour, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt. Stir into the creamed mixture until just blended. Mix in almonds. Divide dough into two pieces. Form into long flat loaves about 1/2 inch tall and 12 inches long. Place the loaves 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until a light golden brown. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
4. With a serrated knife, cut diagonally into slices about 1/2 inch thick. Lay the slices flat on the baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, turning over once. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
5. Place chocolate chips into a small, microwave-safe bowl. Melt chocolate in the microwave, stirring every 20 to 30 seconds until smooth. Use a spatula to spread chocolate onto one side of each cookie. Let stand at room temperature until set. Store biscotti at room temperature in an airtight container.