These Pumpkin Shortbread Cookies made with browned butter and pumpkin puree are lightly spiced, the perfect combo of crunchy and crumbly, and full of pumpkin flavor.
But when I went looking for pumpkin shortbread cookie recipes, I realized a pumpkin/shortbread hybrid was easier said than created.
Here’s the thing about cooking with pumpkin: pumpkin holds a ton of moisture. That’s why cooking with it gives you the softest, moistest breads, cakes, cookies in the world.
So adding pumpkin to shortbread gives you a bit of a problem.
To get the correct shortbread texture and use pumpkin, you have to remove some of the moisture from the ingredients. I initially thought about cooking the pumpkin until it was reduced, but that meant a fairly long cooking time that I didn’t want to build into the recipe. But, by a stroke of luck, while researching a different recipe, I discovered that you can actually just literally squeeze the moisture out of canned pumpkin.
Seriously. It’s easy. And only takes a few paper towels and about 30 seconds. Win!
Squeezed Pumpkin Puree, Browned Butter and Pumpkin Puree, Dough (1/2 batch)
The second thing I knew I was going to have to do was cook some of the water out of the butter. This means browning it over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes while some of the water evaporates, and you are left with butter that is dark, aromatic, and beautiful. Plus, the browned butter gives these cookies a rich, nutty base flavor. Double win!
If you’ve never browned butter before, I’ve embedded a how-to video from America’s Test Kitchen below the recipe. The process isn’t hard, but sometimes it’s nice to have a visual reference.
Once you have your pumpkin and butter prepared, these cookies come together in a flash and are so worth the little extra trouble at the start.
I’m a huge fan of these pumpkin shortbread cookies. They are full of pumpkin flavor and have just the right balance between crunchy and crumbly, sweet but not too sweet, and spiced but not overwhelmingly so. I drizzled the cookies with a bit of melted chocolate for added visual interest in the photos (and I put instructions for it in the recipe) but they don’t really need it.
These cookies are just as tasty naked. 😉
This recipes uses 1/4 cup of pumpkin puree, which about 1/7 of a standard 15-ounce can. You can check out my post What to Do With Leftover Pumpkin Puree for some ideas on what to do with the other 6/7s.
For more pumpkin recipes, try P umpkin Donuts With Maple Glaze , Small-batch Pumpkin Cupcakes , and this Small Pumpkin Cake .
Ingredients
Pumpkin Shortbread Cookies
- ▢ 1/4 cup ( 61 g) pumpkin puree
- ▢ 1/2 cup ( 4 oz) salted butter cubed
- ▢ 1 cup ( 120 g) all-purpose flour
- ▢ 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons ( 45 g) powdered sugar
- ▢ 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ▢ 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- ▢ 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- ▢ 1/8 teaspoon ginger
Chocolate Drizzle
- ▢ 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chopped (high-quality chips are fine)
- ▢ 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
Instructions
Pumpkin Shortbread Cookies
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat.
- Scoop pumpkin puree onto a very clean dish towel or a couple layers of paper towels, fold towel over the puree, and press down firmly, squeezing moisture out of. Flip the puree onto a dry spot and repeat once or twice more until most of the moisture has been removed and you can pick the puree up in a ball.
- Melt butter in a medium, heavy-bottomed, light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook, swirling the pan frequently, until butter becomes a medium nutty brown color. Do not leave the butter unattended as the milk solids will burn easily. Remove from heat.
- Add prepared pumpkin puree to the butter and whisk vigorously until well-combined (it will bubble and pop, so be careful).
- In a large bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients. Pour pumpkin and butter mixture over the top and use a rubber spatula to stir the ingredients until well-combined.
- Place the dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll out to about 1/4-inch thick. Place in the refrigerator while you clean up, about 5 minutes.
- Remove dough from the refrigerator and cut out 30 to 40 1 1/2-inch rounds. Use a metal spatula to transfer rounds to prepared baking sheet. Gathering scraps and re-rolling (between your sheets of parchment paper) as necessary.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the tops of the cookies lose their shiny, under-cooked look.
- Cool completely on the tray, at least 20 min.
Chocolate Drizzle
- In a small, microwave-safe bowl, combine chopped chocolate and oil. Microwave on medium for 30 seconds. Stir. Continue to microwave in 15-second increments if necessary, until your chocolate is smooth. Use a spoon to drizzle chocolate or transfer chocolate to a small plastic bag and snip a very small piece of the corner so you can “pipe” lines.
- Chocolate will set in about 1 hour, or transfer cookies to the refrigerator and it will set almost immediately.
How to Brown Butter
This Dutch Apple Galette for Two is an easy and beautiful rustic dessert for those days when you feel like pie without all the hassle.
Sometimes you feel like pie, but you don’t feel like actually making pie.
Sometimes you feel like eating a slice of pie, but you don’t feel like eating pie leftovers for a week.
Sometimes a galette for two might be just the thing you are looking for.
Guys, I love galettes. They have all the trappings of pie without the all the fussy bits. No one’s spending 45 minutes creating a perfectly braided lattice top for a galette. You roll some pie dough out to something vaguely resembling a circle, fill it with fruit, fold it, and bake. It’s perfectly perfect in its imperfection.
You can turn most fruit pies into a galette, but given that this is September and apple season is just getting started, I thought we’d kick off this galette train with a Dutch Apple Galette for Two.
This dessert is good-looking enough to serve for a special occasion, but simple enough to make on a random Saturday afternoon when you feel like bumming around the kitchen for a while. (This recipe was born in my kitchen on just such a Saturday. ;))
And if making a pie from scratch is something you’ve never gotten around to, a galette is a great place to start building your pie-making muscles.
It takes half the effort and less than half the skill since there’s no fussy top to work with. Plus, since we are using my favorite–and after being pinned 16,000+ times on Pinterest , I’m going to say, Famous– buttermilk pie crust , you know this dough is going to be easy to make and easy to work with. I LOVE IT.
Okay, I’ve been singing the praises of galettes in general, but why should you make a Dutch Apple Galette specifically? Because it’s knock-you-down fantastic. The crust is flakey and dusted with sugar. The apples are cooked to sweet cinnamon perfection. And hey, do you like streusel topping?
Because I’ll give you streusel topping. This thing is piled high (some might say too high (NOT ME!)) with streusel, which offers a fantastic sweet and slightly crunchy contrast with the apples and buttery pie crust.
Serve it hot, straight out of the oven. Serve it drizzled in caramel sauce . Serve it with a comically large scoop of ice cream and take hasty pictures of it before devouring it at 9 in the morning.
The only bad option is not serving it at all.
More Perfect Fall Desserts
- Small Apple Cinnamon Cake
- Pumpkin Donuts With Maple Glaze
- Small-batch Banana Muffins
- Small-batch Apple Cinnamon Muffins
Ingredients
Crust
- ▢ 1/4 batch My Favorite Buttermilk Pie Crust prepared and chilled
Apple Filling
- ▢ 1 1/2 cups diced granny smith apples about 2 small apples
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ( 14 g) unsalted butter
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ( 12 g) granulated sugar
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ( 12 g) brown sugar
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- ▢ 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- ▢ 1/8 teaspoon salt
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Streusel
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ( 14 g) unsalted butter softened
- ▢ 2 tablespoons ( 15g ) all-purpose flour
- ▢ 1 tablespoon and 1 1/2 teaspoon ( 19 g) brown sugar
Egg Wash
- ▢ 1 egg
- ▢ 1 tablespoon milk
- ▢ 1 teaspoon ( 4 g) granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Apple Filling
- Combine apples, butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a small sauce pan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally for 4 to 6 minutes, until apples are slightly softened. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
Roll Dough and Assemble
- Take your dough out of the fridge and allow it to sit out for about 5 to 10 minutes, depending on how warm your kitchen is. You want it pliable enough to roll without cracking, but not so warm that the chunks of butter in the dough become melty.
- On a well-floured surface, roll the dough ball out to a circle 1/8-inch thick (This is the best thickness for folding. Don’t be afraid to check it with a ruler!). When rolling, start from the middle of your dough and work your way out first in one direction, then the other. After every other roll, pick up your dough and rotate it 1/4 turn. If anything begins to stick, add more flour under or over your dough.
- Once your dough reaches the proper thickness, dust off the excess flour and transfer it to the center of your prepared baking sheet. Pour the apple mixture into the center of the dough, stopping at least 1 1/2-inch from the edge.
- Fold the edges over the apples in 5 or 6 folds (or as many as you need!). Edges will be ragged and if they rip, you can “glue” pieces back together with a tiny bit of water rubbed on with your finger tip.
Streusel
- In a small bowl, stir together flour and sugar. Add softened butter and use your fingers to mix until everything is well-incorporated, thick, and crumbly. Drop in crumbles over the apples.
Egg Wash
- In a small bowl, whisk together egg and milk. Brush over the edges of your galette. Sprinkle crust with sugar.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until fruit is bubbly and crust browned. Cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
This Pumpkin Spice Latte recipe uses real pumpkin and can be made two ways, as a light pumpkin spice latte or as a more decadent version.
Hey guys, happy Saturday. How is your weekend treating you so far?
You might remember a few months ago I announced the start of Simple Saturdays, where I use Saturdays to post quick, simple recipes, tips, and tricks that just don’t find their way onto the main blog calendar.
They went on a bit of a hiatus during summer, but they’re back just in time for fall, and we’re starting up again with the ever-controversial Pumpkin Spice Latte.
I don’t know exactly where we as a collective culture stand on pumpkin spice lattes in 2016. We’re still mocking them at every opportunity, but they are so maligned at this point that I feel like it’s almost hipster cool again to like them unironically.
Personally, I’m a fan, and I’m happy to be a fan in the good times and bad, and I boy, do love me a good Pumpkin Spice Meme…
Anyway, since this is a Simple Saturday post, we’ll get right to the recipe so you can enjoy the rest of your weekend. I give you my pumpkin spice latte recipe, two ways: light and decadent.
Both versions are made with real pumpkin, pumpkin-adjacent spices, sugar, coffee, and milk/cream, but the ratios are different so you can have a dashing-out-the-door-with-a-coffee-cup-and-a-full-day-of-meetings-ahead-of-you Light Pumpkin Spice Latte or a sit-by-the-window-on-a-rainy-day-with- a-good-book * Decadent Pumpkin Spice Latte.
Both are delicious, both are a great way to use up leftover pumpkin puree, and both are just begging for you to give them a shot this weekend.
Enjoy the rest of the weekend, and I’ll see you back here Monday with a quick and easy chicken dinner recipe!
More Starbucks Coffee Drinks
- Homemade Mocha
- White Chocolate Mocha
- Caramel Macchiato
- Iced Mocha
If you are opening up a can of pumpkin puree to make this recipe, check out my post What to Do With Leftover Pumpkin Puree for some ideas on storing and using up leftovers.
Equipment
- Fine mesh strainer
Ingredients
Lighter Pumpkin Spice Latte
- ▢ 1/2 cup skim milk
- ▢ 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree
- ▢ 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ▢ 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon plus more for topping
- ▢ Pinch of nutmeg
- ▢ Pinch of ground ginger
- ▢ Pinch of ground cloves
- ▢ 1/2 cup strong hot coffee
Decadent Pumpkin Spice Latte
- ▢ 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons milk
- ▢ 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- ▢ 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree
- ▢ 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ▢ 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon plus more for topping
- ▢ Pinch of nutmeg
- ▢ Pinch of ground ginger
- ▢ Pinch of ground cloves
- ▢ 1/2 cup strong hot coffee
- ▢ Whipped cream for topping
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, over medium-high heat, whisk all ingredients except the coffee together until steaming hot and well combined. Pour mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove any large pieces of pumpkin. This step is optional, but if you skip it, you will have a bit of pumpkin at the bottom of your cup.
- Add coffee to a 12-ounce mug and pour in pumpkin spice mixture. Stir, top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon if desired, and enjoy.
Nutritional Information for Light Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe Nutritional Information for Decadent Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe Recipes Adapted From Food Network
These Pumpkin Shortbread Cookies made with browned butter and pumpkin puree are lightly spiced, the perfect combo of crunchy and crumbly, and full of pumpkin flavor.
But when I went looking for pumpkin shortbread cookie recipes, I realized a pumpkin/shortbread hybrid was easier said than created.
Here’s the thing about cooking with pumpkin: pumpkin holds a ton of moisture. That’s why cooking with it gives you the softest, moistest breads, cakes, cookies in the world.
So adding pumpkin to shortbread gives you a bit of a problem.
To get the correct shortbread texture and use pumpkin, you have to remove some of the moisture from the ingredients. I initially thought about cooking the pumpkin until it was reduced, but that meant a fairly long cooking time that I didn’t want to build into the recipe. But, by a stroke of luck, while researching a different recipe, I discovered that you can actually just literally squeeze the moisture out of canned pumpkin.
Seriously. It’s easy. And only takes a few paper towels and about 30 seconds. Win!
Squeezed Pumpkin Puree, Browned Butter and Pumpkin Puree, Dough (1/2 batch)
The second thing I knew I was going to have to do was cook some of the water out of the butter. This means browning it over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes while some of the water evaporates, and you are left with butter that is dark, aromatic, and beautiful. Plus, the browned butter gives these cookies a rich, nutty base flavor. Double win!
If you’ve never browned butter before, I’ve embedded a how-to video from America’s Test Kitchen below the recipe. The process isn’t hard, but sometimes it’s nice to have a visual reference.
Once you have your pumpkin and butter prepared, these cookies come together in a flash and are so worth the little extra trouble at the start.
I’m a huge fan of these pumpkin shortbread cookies. They are full of pumpkin flavor and have just the right balance between crunchy and crumbly, sweet but not too sweet, and spiced but not overwhelmingly so. I drizzled the cookies with a bit of melted chocolate for added visual interest in the photos (and I put instructions for it in the recipe) but they don’t really need it.
These cookies are just as tasty naked. 😉
This recipes uses 1/4 cup of pumpkin puree, which about 1/7 of a standard 15-ounce can. You can check out my post What to Do With Leftover Pumpkin Puree for some ideas on what to do with the other 6/7s.
For more pumpkin recipes, try P umpkin Donuts With Maple Glaze , Small-batch Pumpkin Cupcakes , and this Small Pumpkin Cake .
Ingredients
Pumpkin Shortbread Cookies
- ▢ 1/4 cup ( 61 g) pumpkin puree
- ▢ 1/2 cup ( 4 oz) salted butter cubed
- ▢ 1 cup ( 120 g) all-purpose flour
- ▢ 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons ( 45 g) powdered sugar
- ▢ 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ▢ 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- ▢ 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- ▢ 1/8 teaspoon ginger
Chocolate Drizzle
- ▢ 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chopped (high-quality chips are fine)
- ▢ 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
Instructions
Pumpkin Shortbread Cookies
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat.
- Scoop pumpkin puree onto a very clean dish towel or a couple layers of paper towels, fold towel over the puree, and press down firmly, squeezing moisture out of. Flip the puree onto a dry spot and repeat once or twice more until most of the moisture has been removed and you can pick the puree up in a ball.
- Melt butter in a medium, heavy-bottomed, light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook, swirling the pan frequently, until butter becomes a medium nutty brown color. Do not leave the butter unattended as the milk solids will burn easily. Remove from heat.
- Add prepared pumpkin puree to the butter and whisk vigorously until well-combined (it will bubble and pop, so be careful).
- In a large bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients. Pour pumpkin and butter mixture over the top and use a rubber spatula to stir the ingredients until well-combined.
- Place the dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll out to about 1/4-inch thick. Place in the refrigerator while you clean up, about 5 minutes.
- Remove dough from the refrigerator and cut out 30 to 40 1 1/2-inch rounds. Use a metal spatula to transfer rounds to prepared baking sheet. Gathering scraps and re-rolling (between your sheets of parchment paper) as necessary.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the tops of the cookies lose their shiny, under-cooked look.
- Cool completely on the tray, at least 20 min.
Chocolate Drizzle
- In a small, microwave-safe bowl, combine chopped chocolate and oil. Microwave on medium for 30 seconds. Stir. Continue to microwave in 15-second increments if necessary, until your chocolate is smooth. Use a spoon to drizzle chocolate or transfer chocolate to a small plastic bag and snip a very small piece of the corner so you can “pipe” lines.
- Chocolate will set in about 1 hour, or transfer cookies to the refrigerator and it will set almost immediately.
How to Brown Butter
Classic shortbread thumbprint cookies with delicious homemade butterscotch filling.
Photos have been updated. Don’t worry, you’re in the right place. :)
I’m so excited to hit publish on my very first blog post today!
I wanted the inaugural post to be something that reflected the spirit of the blog to come, one that was representative of my passion for healthy recipes, eating your veggies, and branching out of your culinary comfort zone. But honestly, it’s December. It’s pretty much all cookies all the time coming out of my kitchen right now (stay tuned for salad in January).
So instead, I’m starting today with a classic cookie, my current obsession, shortbread thumbprint cookies with homemade butterscotch filling.
This is going to sound crazy, but I wasn’t a shortbread fan for most of my life. Beyond a few tried-and-true family recipes, we weren’t really bakers in my house growing up, nor were we cookie people.
I know I ate shortbread. I vaguely remember turning my nose up at those shiny blue tins of the stuff every year at Christmas, and I’d used it as a base in bars, but I didn’t understand the sweet and buttery goodness that was the homemade shortbread cookie until my sister baked up a batch for me.
My immediate reaction was, This is amazing. I never want to not be eating these. And then, Hey, World, what other wonders have you been holding out on me?!!!
Since that day, I’ve made this recipe waaaaay too many times in way too many variations (rolled in sugar, rolled in sprinkles, icing, no icing, chocolate drizzles, etc.) and have finally settled on my perfect variation: rolled in sanding sugar * or turbinado sugar *, turned into a thumbprint cookie and filled with butterscotch.
The butterscotch is the perfect, creamy complement to the buttery cookie and the sugar gives it a crunch to keep things interesting. These cookies are so good you’ll never want to let your shortbread go naked again!
Ingredients
Cookies
- ▢ 1 cup ( 8 oz) unsalted butter room temperature
- ▢ 1/2 cup ( 60 g) powdered sugar sifted
- ▢ 2 cups ( 280 g) all-purpose flour
- ▢ 1/8 teaspoon salt
- ▢ 1/4 cup sanding sugar optional
Butterscotch
- ▢ 2 tablespoons ( 1 oz) unsalted butter
- ▢ 1/4 cup ( 50 g) packed brown sugar
- ▢ 1/4 cup heavy cream
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon salt
- ▢ 3/4 teaspoons vanilla
Instructions
Cookies
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in flour and salt, mixing until just combined, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom of your bowl.
- Cover and chill the dough in the refrigerator until it is firm enough to handle, about 15-30 minutes. You should be able to shape scoops of it into a ball without it being too sticky or cracking. If it is over-chilled and difficult to work with, leave it out on the counter for a few minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Using a tablespoon, scoop dough and roll into balls (slightly under 1 ounce each). If desired, roll balls in sanding sugar until completely covered. Place dough cookie sheet, 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. The cookies are done when their bottoms are lightly browned.
- As soon as they come out of the oven, use a round teaspoon or the back of a wooden spoon to create shallow wells in the center of each cookie. Be careful not to press too hard or you can cause the cookies to crack. Set aside.
Butterscotch
- Melt butter in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add brown sugar, salt, and cream. Stir to combine. Bring to a simmer and, stirring occasionally, cook on medium for 5 minutes.
- Remove pot from heat and stir in the vanilla. Use a teaspoon to spoon butterscotch into the thumbprints. Allow the butterscotch to cool slightly before serving.
Notes
Butterscotch Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies Nutritional Information Adapted From: In the Kitchen with Stefano Faita Butterscotch Filling Adapted From: Smitten Kitchen
Small-batch Instructions: This cookie recipe halves cleanly, just use a pinch of salt instead of 1/8 teaspoon. For the butterscotch, simmer for 4 minutes instead of 5 in a 1-quart pot, and use 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.
Original iPhone Photography, Circa 2015
Pumpkin Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
Pumpkin Shortbread Cookies
- 1/4 cup ( 61 g) pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup ( 4 oz) salted butter cubed
- 1 cup ( 120 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons ( 45 g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ginger
Chocolate Drizzle
- 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chopped (high-quality chips are fine)
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
Instructions
Pumpkin Shortbread Cookies
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat.
- Scoop pumpkin puree onto a very clean dish towel or a couple layers of paper towels, fold towel over the puree, and press down firmly, squeezing moisture out of. Flip the puree onto a dry spot and repeat once or twice more until most of the moisture has been removed and you can pick the puree up in a ball.
- Melt butter in a medium, heavy-bottomed, light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook, swirling the pan frequently, until butter becomes a medium nutty brown color. Do not leave the butter unattended as the milk solids will burn easily. Remove from heat.
- Add prepared pumpkin puree to the butter and whisk vigorously until well-combined (it will bubble and pop, so be careful).
- In a large bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients. Pour pumpkin and butter mixture over the top and use a rubber spatula to stir the ingredients until well-combined.
- Place the dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll out to about 1/4-inch thick. Place in the refrigerator while you clean up, about 5 minutes.
- Remove dough from the refrigerator and cut out 30 to 40 1 1/2-inch rounds. Use a metal spatula to transfer rounds to prepared baking sheet. Gathering scraps and re-rolling (between your sheets of parchment paper) as necessary.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the tops of the cookies lose their shiny, under-cooked look.
- Cool completely on the tray, at least 20 min.
Chocolate Drizzle
- In a small, microwave-safe bowl, combine chopped chocolate and oil. Microwave on medium for 30 seconds. Stir. Continue to microwave in 15-second increments if necessary, until your chocolate is smooth. Use a spoon to drizzle chocolate or transfer chocolate to a small plastic bag and snip a very small piece of the corner so you can “pipe” lines.
- Chocolate will set in about 1 hour, or transfer cookies to the refrigerator and it will set almost immediately.
