When Good Cookies Turn Bad ...

Its a cold and rainy day, the husband has taken ill, and I've got a huge can of pumpkin mocking me every time I open the fridge. So what's a Diva to do when such miseries ensue? Why bake cookies of course! Pumpkin cookies to be exact.

Bound and determined to complete my wonderful and terrifying journey toward pumpkin-acceptance, I've been busy devising ways to use up the open can. Intrigued as I am by that scotch laced pie I mentioned on Monday, I'm still not ready to take the pie plunge. I'm just not there ... yet. Cookies seem like a far friendlier, more gentle even, introduction to this fearsome ingredient ... especially if they're topped with chocolate.

Sadly, said cookies broke my heart. The flavor combination is a winner to be sure, but the texture ... ugh ... not at all what I had anticipated. The inspiration for this failed cookie came from a spice cookie featured in this month's issue of Woman's Day. While I did not use their recipe, I was completely charmed by their use of "Snowcaps" to top the cookies. I constructed a fairly standard dough, baked them off and topped each with a nonpareil. They looked great and tasted great, but I just can't get past the texture ... this is a cookie that thinks its a muffin. What the ...?

I'll post the recipe here, but not because I think you should try it. Rather, I'm asking you pumpkin using people, what went wrong? The finished cookie is entirely too soft and cake-like. Was it the whole wheat flour? Should I have used more butter? Help!

Rejected Pumpkin Cookie Muffins:

• 1 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. Chinese Five Spice Powder
  
• generous grating of fresh nutmeg
• 1/2 cup of butter, softened
• scant 3/4 cup of granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar, packed
• 1 large egg, room temperature
  
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup of canned solid pack pumpkin, room temperature
• Snowcaps for topping
  

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the butter and sugars together in the bowl of your standing electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla and pumpkin and beat until well combined. Reserve.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices until well combined. Add the flour to the pumpkin mixture, by thirds, beating on medium speed until just combined.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto a cookie sheet and bake in the middle of the oven for 12 to 14 minutes, or until lightly browned and cooked throughout. Immediately press a Snowcap into the top of the cookie. Transfer to a wire rack and cool.

I was so confused by the resulting cookies, that I decided to bake the second batch in a mini-muffin tin. The husband liked those better and I think I agree. We'll eat them, of course, but suffice it to say this was not my vision of the perfect pumpkin cookie. Sad.

For only the second time I will not end this post with the phrase: "I hope you'll try it!" I hope you won't. What I do hope is that you'll send me a better recipe for pumpkin cookies. If you've got one, let me know in the comments or email me. I'm heartbroken.

Meanwhile, I've still got left-over pumpkin in the fridge. Is this a bottomless can? Next up: pumpkin waffles. Stay tuned and lets hope they won't disappoint!

Bon appetite!