Bready or Not: Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Shortbread
Shortbread makes me think of autumn, so it’s only right to combine shortbread and pumpkin.
It’s been a while, but I have talked about my shortbread/autumn association before. It puts me in mind of kilts and bagpipes and happy family times.
Pumpkin lends an orange tint and a very mellow and pleasant flavor. It’s such a small amount that it doesn’t make the pieces feel tacky, either.
The original recipe called for dark chocolate. That’s just not my thing. I prefer white chocolate with pumpkin. Here, I mixed in white and semi-sweet chips. YUM.
Don’t be fooled by the fact that this uses an 8×8 pan–the shortbread is thick, so it makes a good bit. I cut it small, like I would with fudge.
Like most any shortbread, these keep very very well. I imagine it would mail well, too, if you don’t live in a place where it’s still 100-degrees in November.
Modified from Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Shortbread from The View from the Great Island.
Bready or Not: Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Shortbread
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 Tbsp pumpkin puree heaping
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
- 1/4 tsp cloves
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup chocolate chips white, dark, semi, etc
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Prepare an 8x8 dish by lining it with aluminum foil or parchment paper and applying nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Beat in the vanilla, pumpkin, and spices.
- Fold in the flour, and then the chocolate chips.
- Spread the batter in the pan, smoothing it out evenly.
- Bake for about 40-45 minutes, until the edges just start to turn gold. Set out to cool to room temperature, then use the foil or parchment to lift the shortbread out for easy cutting.
Store in a sealed container at room temperature.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Pumpkin Pudding Snickerdoodle Cookies
The name of the recipe is somewhat misleading. These don’t actually include pumpkin. Instead, they use dry pumpkin pudding mix!
This important ingredient vexed me. I found this recipe for pumpkin streusel pudding cookies at Chef-in-Training two years ago and wanted to do my own remix as snickerdoodles last year. The pudding mix is a seasonal ingredient. Foolish me, I started looking for it at Walmart in September, which is when I really want autumnal food even though it’s still 110-degrees here. No luck. I looked at every grocery store around. Still no luck.
Finally, the first week of November, I happened to be in Walmart. Lo and behold, they had the pudding mix! I bought several and resisted the temptation to cackle and dash through the store.
Therefore, you see, the timing of this post is so you can be on the prowl, too. Grab’em while you can!
Pudding mix is awesome in baked goods. It makes the end result soft, moist, and tender, and it stays like that for days. The pumpkin pudding here tastes like real pumpkin, but it has a lot more endurance. (If you want a real pumpkin snickerdoodle recipe, I posted one last year!)
This recipe makes a lot, too. I ended up with about 50 cookies using my teaspoon scoop.
Bready or Not: Pumpkin Pudding Snickerdoodle Cookies
Ingredients
Cookie Dough:
- 3/4 cup butter softened
- 3/4 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 small box pumpkin spice instant pudding mix dry
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 1/4 cups flour
Topping:
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 Tablespoons cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar.
- Add the dry pumpkin spice instant pudding mix and beat until well combined. Next, mix in the eggs and vanilla.
- In another bowl, combine the flour and baking soda. Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the butter-sugar mix.
- Prepare the snickerdoodle topping in another bowl.
- Form dough into small balls. Use a spoon to roll them around in the sugar and cinnamon. Place them on a greased or lined baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes.
OM NOM NOM!
Bonus Bready or Not: Candy-Stuffed Cookie Cups
I could accurately name these Salted Browned Butter Candy-Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups but that’s a royal pain to even type out, much less say.
These are what I made for my book release at Changing Hands. My book has almost been out a month (!!!) so I figure it was about time I shared this recipe, as promised.
I wanted something cookie-like but more durable so that I could make it a few weeks ahead and freeze in a gallon freezer bag.
I thought, hey! Mini muffin pan cookies would be great! I already had a few such recipes pinned, so I combined them to create something new.
It was important to me that the candy be inside the cup. Since my event was in September in Arizona, I already knew I’d need to transport food in a cooler. Even so, I didn’t want lots of chocolate on the surface where it could melt.
In my first attempt at this recipe, I used the tablespoon amount called for in one of the base recipes. They baked into these overflowing mushroom shapes. Taste-wise, the combo worked, but they were HUGE.
Therefore, I knew on my next attempt that I wanted to use about a teaspoon of dough for each cup. That’s enough for it to gently round, not overflow.
I also added corn starch to the recipe, which is what I use in my Soft Batch-like recipe. I prefer cookies chewy rather than crispy, and these would get crispy fast.
Stuff these cups with whatever you want. I used Rolos and mini Milky Ways. Any bite size chocolate candy would work, or caramels or Snak Sak Oreos. Go crazy. Go delicious.
My recipe is a combination of Rolo Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups at Crazy for Crust and Salted Caramel Browned Butter Cookie Cups at Buns in my Oven.
Bonus Bready or Not: Candy-Stuffed Cookie Cups
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter browned on stove
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 large eggs
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 teaspoons corn starch
- 1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips
- about 50-60 candies or mini cookies Rolos, Kisses, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, mini Oreos, etc
- sea salt to sprinkle on top
Instructions
- Melt butter in saucepan at medium heat. Whisk until it turns deep golden brown, about 5 minutes. Let it cool a few minutes.
- Prep the mini muffin pan(s) by generously buttering or using a non-stick spray like Pam. If desired, use mini baking cup liners and spray them.
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and corn starch.
- In a large bowl, pour in the white and brown sugar. Add the still-mildly-warm browned butter and mix. Add eggs one at a time followed by vanilla extract. Add the dry ingredients until just combined. Stir in mini chocolate chips.
- Have your candy unwrapped or ready at hand. Use a teaspoon scoop to dole out dough. Press a candy inside the dough ball and cover completely. Place in mini muffin pan hole. Once the pan is full, sprinkle sea salt on top.
- Bake cookie cups for about 11 minutes. Tops should be golden brown and gently rounded. Let cool in pan for an extended time before removing (especially if they overflow with a mushroom-like effect).
- Cookies will keep in the freezer for weeks, or for several days in a covered container at room temperature. Makes about 50-60
OM NOM NOM.
Bready or Not: Chewy Oatmeal White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
A year ago, I shared my favorite Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. Aren’t they pretty?
I decided to do a remix of this same recipe but with white chocolate chips and cranberries. See, I had major writing deadlines coming up and I wanted to have reliable dough stashed away in the freezer so I had emergency cookie dough.
Yes, emergency cookie dough. This is totally a thing.
I prepped the dough by scooping it and freezing it on a cookie sheet and wax paper. Then I bagged it all and stashed it in the deep freeze.
Three months later, I baked it.
I took the dough straight from the freezer. I watched it bake because I really wasn’t sure how long it would need. The dough didn’t expand at all, so halfway through I used the bottom of a glass to smush them flatter. The batches ended up taking thirteen to sixteen minutes.
My reliable cookie dough was indeed reliable. The white chocolate cranberry cookies ended up chewy and amazing, just like the original version.
Bready or Not: Chewy Oatmeal White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup butter melted
- 1 cup packed brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpat, or use seasoned stoneware.
- Melt butter and let cool slightly.
- Mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the cinnamon, vanilla, egg, and egg yolk for 2-3 minutes until light and creamy. Mix in the flour mixture. Add the oats, white chocolate, and cranberries. Mix until just blended.
- Using a tablespoon scoop, place dough balls on pan. Bake for 10-13 minutes, until the edges are slightly brown and the middle is still soft. Let the cookies rest on the cookie sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Note: Scoop and freeze the dough for months. Bake it straight out of the freezer for 13-16 minutes; dough may need to be flattened halfway through if the cookies don't expand.
OM NOM NOM.
Bready or Not: Healthy Breakfast Cookies
Cookies for breakfast. Healthy cookies. No refined sugars. Vegan. Also gluten-free, if you use GF oats.
Even better: they taste delicious.
This is one of my favorite breakfast recipes. I customize it based on my mood and what I have on hand. I’ve made this with macadamia nut butter, cashew butter, and almond butter–and combinations thereof. I’ve used apple butter, pumpkin butter, and date butter. Equally awesome with all varieties. I love to use golden raisins, but you could throw anything in. If you don’t have pepitas? Do sunflower seeds or other chopped nuts, or omit.
These cookies are cushions of goodness… like old-fashioned peanut butter cookies, but denser and better. I whip up a batch and freeze 2/3 of it right away. It takes care of my breakfast for weeks.
I often have two cookies first thing in the morning before I exercise, and I might have one more if I’m hungry afterward. They give me the perfect amount of energy to start the day.
Did I mention they are also delicious?
Modified from a recipe on Sally’s Baking Addiction.
Bready or Not: Healthy Breakfast Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups quick oats not whole or old-fashioned oats
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon heaping
- 1 cup nut butter
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup or honey
- 3/4 cup fruit butter apple butter, date butter, etc
- 1 cup dried fruit raisins, cranberries, etc
- 1/2 cup pepitas shelled pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup ground flaxseed optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325-degrees. Prepare cookie sheets with parchment or silpat baking mats, or use seasoned stoneware.
- Combine all of the ingredients into a large bowl.
- Using a tablespoon or tablespoon scoop, drop dollops of dough onto cookie sheet. Note that it won't spread. Use fingers to gently tamp down top and press in stray oats on the sides; it will be a little sticky.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, until firm. Cool for several minutes before transitioning them to a rack to finish cooling.
Makes about 28 cookies at tablespoon size. In a sealed container at room temperature, cookies will keep for at least a week. They can also be frozen without any change in taste or texture.
OM NOM NOM!
ARCs! Holy Taco Church!
When an author gets copies of the book she has yearned to hold her entire life, it’s only right the book first be offered to the cat.
Porom the Cat, who would much rather nibble on my toes than pose for a photo op.
Then the book must be read to Big Blue, because that’s the kind of thing monsters demand.
Reading time for a Dragon Quest Slime.
The books were also loved, hugged, and named George.
I just have the four copies for now, and no, I haven’t decided what to do as far as contests or anything. These decisions are HARD, man.
In other news!
I’m a High Priestess of Churromancy in the Holy Taco Church. (I know, I know, you’re thinking, “Well, duh.”) But this is a Real Thing. It’s a whole bunch of awesome writers congregating to talk food and liquor and happy thoughts. To name drop, our Tacopope is Kevin Hearne and other members include Chuck Wendig, Jaye Wells, Diana Rowland, and Vicki Pettersen.
My first offering is up today: Churro Shortbread.
Yes, that’s a caduceus made of a churro and two tacos.
And because I’m hardcore, I created my own holy symbol.
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