Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Butter Icing

I had a moment on Monday morning where I was stricken with the realization that Halloween is this week. Even though I don't have any party commitments this weekend and my neighborhood isn't exactly trick-or-treat friendly, I still wanted to get into the spirit. After cruising through Martha's database of perfect spooky treats, my eyes fell on this unassuming cookie. Pumpkin flavored? It's not Halloween without pumpkins. Brown butter? That's trendy now. Makes a large batch? More to share with others. Small and fluffy? All the better to have a handful of them and not feel as guilty! It was certainly the type of dessert I was looking for, but I didn't realize just how yummy these cookies would be. They're good even without the icing (which I quickly realized after several of them disappeared from the cooling rack mere minutes after coming out of the oven).

The batter starts out as most cakes and cookies do: cream the butter and sugar, add the wet ingredients, and add the dry ingredients. You'll see from this picture that I like to set up all of the ingredients ahead of time so I'm not scrambling while the batter is mixing. I also do the same while cooking. Paying more attention to what I'm doing helps me prevent overmixing, overcooking, burning, and other unpleasantries.

The batter should be smooth and creamy: perfect for piping. I used a Wilton 1A large round tip with a disposable piping bag. You could also just snip the corner off a Ziplock bag to do the job. The round tip allows you to have more control and makes for consistently round cookies. If you do any kind of baking on a regular basis (or even cooking), I highly recommend investing in a few basic piping tips. Having a large round and a large star tip will do the trick for most decorating needs. Need to ice four dozen cupcakes in five minutes? Star tip. Mess-free gnocchi? Large round tip and a knife to pipe the dough directly into boiling water. Quick cake decoration? Star for classic, round for modern. They're about two dollars each at Michael's and they don't expire. Such a time saver.

Make sure to follow the directions in the recipe when it comes to piping the cookies. A 1 1/2 piping diameter might seem small, but the cookies will spread as they bake. Give them an inch of room on all sides on the baking sheet, or the cookies will start to get a little too friendly with each other.

While the cookies are cooling, it's time to make the icing. If you've never made brown butter before, fear not: it's not that hard. You just have to pay close attention to the color and make sure to swirl the pan and not stir. After three minutes of watching the popping butter and swirling the pan, the color of the butter will start to turn golden brown. The butter will also develop a distinctly nutty smell. The color in the picture above is about what you're looking for. There will also be darker brown bits on the bottom of the pan that you should scrape in as well.

As I mentioned earlier, this recipe makes A LOT. You'll see the recipe says six dozen. It's not kidding. Its the perfect size for a party or family gathering (or for a couple to snack on throughout the week). They are perfect two-bite grab-and-go cookies with a light pumpkin spice flavor.


Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Butter Icing [Makes about 6 dozen cookies]

Ingredients:

For the Cookies:

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt [I used Kosher]
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups canned solid-pack pumpkin (14oz)
• 3/4 cup evaporated milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Icing: [Note- This will make more icing than you need. I halved it.]

• 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon evaporated milk
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Make cookies: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg in a medium bowl; set aside.

Put butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in eggs. Reduce speed to low. Add pumpkin, evaporated milk, and vanilla; mix until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add flour mixture; mix until combined.

Transfer 1 1/2 cups batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip (such as Ateco #806 or Wilton 1A). Pipe 1 1/2-inch rounds onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until tops spring bag, about 12 minutes. Cool on sheets on wire racks 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks (or paper towels); let cool completely.

Make icing: Put powdered sugar in a large bowl; set aside. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, swirling pan occasionally, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Immediately add butter to powdered sugar, scraping any browned bits from sides and bottom of pan. Add evaporated milk and vanilla; stir until smooth. Spread about 1 teaspoon icing onto each cookie. If icing stiffens, warm in microwave for 10 second intervals and stir.

Cookies can be stored in single layers in airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.


Recipe from Martha Stewart