Pumpkin Spice Latte Cookies

I will confess it now, I think I love all things pumpkin. I don't think I've eaten anything pumpkin and not liked it so far. However, this recipe which I found on Vanderbilt Wife's Blog is amazing! She gets all the credit. I was a bit shocked however that our cookies looked just a bit different. I think I know why...and I'll share my secret. (NO, its not trick photography...you know..I use my cell phone..nothing special here!)

While I haven't posted on this particular blog in ages, I'm excited to start back up again. I've been a bit busy with writing a book (YES...truth - its with the editor as we speak (eh..type), and working on a speaking at Bagels & Blessings (Women's Ministry event)! OK..you don't want to hear about all of that...that information is for my other blog...The Journey of a Superhero Mom! Feel free to go there if you want more information on my absence.

I don't think I'm alone in my passion for pumpkin. The most popular post on this particular blog was my Pumpkin Waffles. Click on the link if you're interested in those.

Okay, here is my secret, it makes everything taste and look that much better I think. All you need is to find an adorable, self motivated 11 year old boy (he is 12 now) who has a passion for cooking! (I understand they are not easy to find, so I wish you the best!)

Have him, independently carve up that pumpkin (in this case he did 4 massive pumpkins). Now, I recommend that if he is careful and you trust your child...DO NOT watch him. It just causes too much stress. :)

Then have that 12 year old boy bake those carved pieces in the oven (or whichever way you choose to cook your pumpkins). Then have him put everything through the food processor.

When he is done he should bag as many as he can and label them (2 cups, 3 cups...) and freeze them. The container is because we were using that first..that went into the refrigerator to be used up that week.

For this recipe, I grabbed a bag of his fresh pumpkin from the freezer and let it defrost. He made a pie and I made pumpkin spice latte cookies.

That 's my secret!

Now, these delicious soft cookies taste better than the famous PSL at Starbucks! I kid you NOT! Here we go:

Ingredients:
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon 
1/2 tsp. salt 
1 c. butter (can sub shortening or use a mixture of the two) 
1 c. sugar 1 c. pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)(I used fresh from our pumpkins - you don't have too!) 
1 egg 
1 tsp. vanilla 

Frosting:
3 T butter 
1/4 c. milk 
1/2 c. brown sugar 
2 tsp. instant coffee granules 
1 c. powdered sugar 
1/2 tsp. vanilla 
1 T heavy cream 

Instructions 
Sift the first five ingredients together (flour through salt). In a separate bowl, cream sugar and butter. Add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla. Beat well. 

Add dry ingredients all at once and stir gently to form a smooth batter. Drop by tablespoons on an ungreased cookie sheet. (I use a small cookie scoop.) 
Bake 12 to 14 minutes at 350. 

Let rest on cookie sheets for a few minutes when they come out of the oven; then transfer to cooling racks and let cool. 

Frosting 

Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add milk, brown sugar, and coffee granules and bring to a bubble over medium heat. Once bubbling, cook two minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely. (I transfer to a bowl and refrigerate.) When cool, stir powdered sugar, vanilla, and heavy cream into the sugar mixture. Spoon or drizzle over cooled cookies.

WARNING: They will not last long. Also, even if you are not a "coffee drinker", these cookies are...amazing! You might still love them. So give them a try, at the very least make them for the coffee lovers (or pumpkin lovers) in your home or in your neighborhood. By the way, another sure fire way to keep the neighborhood watch strong by your house...feed your neighbors homemade cookies! They'll be watching your house...waiting for you to come out with a special little plate! ;)

Well, that is it for now. Thanks for finding your way back to the kitchen! I know it has been awhile. I'm going to write that post about my "must haves" tools in Krypton's Kitchen - but I might get distracted! You know what's coming up right? Here is a little hint:

Pumpkin Waffles - Oh My!

So this was so much fun today. I want to remind you, that I rarely come up with anything original, I get my recipes from books or other websites. This one I got from The Girl Who Ate Everything - check out her site for the original recipe (not sure I'm allowed to copy from her website even if I give her the credit...so to be on the safe side you can find it there yourself) - she even includes homemade syrup (sadly I have no time for that..I have to homeschool 3 elementary superheroes). Her photography is amazing. I might add that my photography is done by me, with my cell phone. That should give you a chuckle!

I will give you photo instructions and let you know what I did wrong differently. Did I mention this was FUN!?

I love getting my ingredients all out and ready to go...the term we use is mise en place (french term for "set in place.") It helps a scattered Mom like me. You know in case the phone rings, the dog is in the garbage and the kids are fighting - that never happens here.

Ok - (Just noticed that my capital O only works with the caps lock on--great)..I love whenever I can use the whole egg. I despise having to throw away my yokes. So fortunately this recipe calls for 4 egg whites and 4 egg yolks. That made me smile!

Just wanted to put a plug in here for my girl (The Kitchen Aid)..while I was getting all of the dry ingredients together, she was working hard forming stiff peaks with the egg whites! Love her!

Now about the butter. I've said it before, I'm not a professional anything...I know when I bake my rule is to always use unsalted butter because most recipes call to add salt. This recipe only called for 1/4 teaspoon so I used one stick of salted butter and half of a stick of unsalted. (My little adaptation).

Confession - I've never ever used a waffle iron before. The batter, after folding in the egg whites ends up being very fluffy...almost mousse like. I wasn't quite sure how this was going to go with the iron.

I chose this picture because my first attempt at getting that waffle out of the iron was...how shall I say this...a massacre. Oh I used plenty of Pam, it wasn't sticking, I just couldn't figure how to get them out because they were totally hot and not extremely crunchy like when you pull items from the toaster. So we taste tested the ugly waffle and it was....

(gone in two seconds) seriously one of the best waffles I have ever tasted in my whole life. Perfect pumpkin flavor - not too much -  not too little. Four forks devoured our first "test" waffle and then my superheroes were like putty in my hands..waiting anxiously for their waffle to be placed with love on their plate,

Brendan was first, because he is most polite and patient! He knows what he is doing!!

After making a few, I got the hang of this waffle iron. I appreciate my friend who let me borrow this for today!

Kyle was next. Just want to put a plug in here for Autism Spectrum Disorder. You know my Kyle was diagnosed with this many years ago, he has come a long way, but he still has issues that we have learned to love him through. See below...he couldn't bring himself to touch the fork because I touched it, and my hands had Pam or butter on them..made the fork greasy. Don't you love it? No, I did not give him a  new fork..I said I love him through his challenges, but we don't cater to them. I love this boy!

Then there is my third superhero..Shane. He is the one who could have eaten 2 whole waffles I think. He just has that much energy. (He was served last because he had the largest "testing taste" of everyone else.) No problem there, he also finished before Kyle was done!

The recipe said it would make 8 Belgium waffles. I used 1 measured cup and poured in into the iron. The result was 5 and a half...but it is really a cute half! I did invite the owner of the iron and her son to join us today, but I'm thinking they chose to stay in their jammies instead. They know me...I'll be doing this again...

I am going to freeze the two waffles I have left over so Mr. Incredible can try one for tomorrow for breakfast (or tonight for a snack). Hey, I'm really glad you stopped by the kitchen this morning! Up next...Coffee Spice Cookies...I'm making them today.