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Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Butter Icing

Although I declared my less-than-enthusiastic nature towards the Halloween holiday, I am still in gung-ho mode for everything and anything pumpkin. The bonus to baking with a ton of pumpkin this time of year? Any leftover that gets moved into the refrigerator can be stirred into oatmeal, applesauce, yogurt, ice cream… you name it, and you just created a pumpkin version of xyz. I have been meaning to make pumpkin cookies for well over a month and they kept getting put on the back burner. I had them on my list of things to make for this week, but didn’t have a specific recipe picked out when I noticed these on foodgawker. I have always been a big fan of Tracey’s blog (she makes amazing things!) and I loved that these were just a tad bit different, foregoing the traditional cream cheese frosting that is usually paired with pumpkin goodies, and using a brown butter icing instead. I’m so glad that I stepped outside of the proverbial box, because this is a fantastic combination!

These cookies actually have more of a cake-list consistency than a cookie – they are light, fluffy, and the definition of moist. The are packed with pumpkin flavor and perfectly spiced.

And then that icing. Oh sweet icing. This was my first time working with browned butter, and I couldn’t believe how much more pop of flavor there was. The resulting icing is faintly reminiscent of caramel, but not that sweet. It’s just amazing. And it’s a perfect complement to the pumpkin cookies; the flavors bounce off of each other in great balance. These will definitely be dessert for many nights to come!

Two years ago: Egg Bagels

Pumpkin Cookies with Brown-Butter Icing

Yield: 36 cookies

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Bake Time: 12 to 15 minutes

For the Cookies:
2¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1¼ teaspoons kosher salt
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1¼ teaspoons ground ginger
¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¾ cup (6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2¼ cups light brown sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1½ cups canned pumpkin
¾ cup half-and-half
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Icing:
4 cups powdered sugar
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon half-and-half
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg; set aside.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs until combined. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the pumpkin, half-and-half and vanilla. Beat until very well blended, about 2 minutes (the batter may look grainy at this point, but don’t worry, it will come together). Keep the mixer on low and gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Use a rubber spatula to give it a final mix, incorporating any flour on the sides and scraping the bottom of the bowl.

4. Use a large cookie scoop to scoop balls of the batter onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1½ inches between them. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the tops of the cookies spring back when lightly pressed. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and let the cookies cool for 5 minutes then remove them to the rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining batter.

5. To make the icing: Add the powdered sugar to a heatproof bowl. Put the butter in a small saucepan over medium heet and let it start melting. Continue cooking, swirling occasionally, until the butter becomes golden brown and smells nutty (be paitent and watch carefully, it can go from brown to burnt quickly). Remove it from the heat and pour it over the powdered sugar, scraping the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the half-and-half and vanilla and stir until the icing is smooth. Using a small offset spatula, spread icing on each cookie. (If the icing stiffens before you get them all frosted, stir vigorously to lighten it up.)

Note #1: You can substitute evaporated milk for the half-and-half in both the cookies and the icing.

Note #2: If you don’t have a cookie scoop, transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitting with a plain tip (or use a ziploc bag with the corner snipped off) and pipe 1½-inch rounds onto the prepared baking sheet.

(Recipe adapted from Tracey’s Culinary Adventures)

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Brown Eyed Baker

Sweet and Salty Brownies Recipe

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Last weekend my Chief Culinary Consultant and I braved the crowds (and the heat) at the outlets and did some Memorial Day weekend shopping. It just so happened that the first store we stumbled upon was the Williams-Sonoma outlet. Swoon. They had some some things outside for a “sidewalk sale” and I noticed a stack of Baked Explorations cookbooks on one of the shelves – $9.99! Definite outlet no-brainer there. I’ve been dying to pick it up since positively loving every single recipe I tried from the first Baked cookbook (you know, the book that brought us the Baked Brownie and Root Beer Float Cake, mmm!). I snatched it up, among other things, and couldn’t wait to get in the car to start browsing through it. These sweet and salty brownies jumped off the page at me, and I knew immediately they would be the first thing I’d bake up from the book. It turned out to be a verygood decision!

These brownies are a take on the fabulous Baked brownie, which are dense, fudgy and the most delicious brownie I have ever had. This recipe takes that recipe and slaps a layer of salted caramel in the middle and then sprinkles a combination of fleur de sel and coarse salt on top. Unlike the salted caramel brownies that I made last summer where I swirled the caramel into the brownie batter, the salted caramel in these brownies are baked right into a middle layer, so it essentially becomes part of the brownie batter. You can definitely taste it in there and the saltiness it imparts, along with the salt sprinkled on top, is a wonderful balance to the sweet richness of the brownie batter. These are definitely killer brownies. Love them!

I think for dessert tomorrow I’m going to warm one up in the microwave, top it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and enjoy it with a bottle of root beer. That sounds like bliss. Now, you must make these so you can join me!

Sweet and Salty Brownies

Yield: 24 brownies

Prep Time: 45 minutes | Bake Time: 30 minutes

For the Salted Caramel Filling:
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
½ cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon fleur de sel
¼ cup sour cream

For the Brownie Batter:
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa powder
11 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
1½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
5 eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the Topping:
1½ teaspoons fleur de sel
1 teaspoon coarse sugar

1. Make the Caramel: In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and corn syrup with ¼ cup water, stirring them together carefully so you don’t splash the sides of the pan. Cook over high heat until an instant-read thermometer reads 350 degrees F, or until the mixture is dark amber in color (keep a close eye on the caramel at all times, as it goes from golden brown to black and burnt very quickly), 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat, and slowly add the cream (careful, it will bubble up) and then the fleur de sel. Whisk in the sour cream. Set aside to cool.

2. Make the Brownie Batter: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

3. Butter the sides and bottom of a glass or light-colored metal 9×13-inch pan. Line the bottom with a sheet of parchment paper, and butter the parchment.

4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and cocoa powder.

5. Place the chocolate and butter in the bowl of a double boiler set over a pan of simmering water, and stir occasionally until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and combined. Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water of the double boiler, and add both sugars. Whisk until completely combined and remove the bowl from the pan. The mixture should be at room temperature.

6. Add three eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined. Add the remaining eggs and whisk until just combined. Add the vanilla and stir until combined. Do not overbeat the batter at this stage, or your brownies will be cakey.

7. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the chocolate. Using a spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until there is just a trace amount of the flour mixture still visible.

8. Assemble the brownies: Pour half of the brownie mixture into the pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Drizzle about ¾ cup of the caramel sauce over the brownie layer in a zigzag pattern, making sure the caramel doesn’t come in contact with the edges oft he pan or it will burn. Use an offset spatula to spread the caramel evenly across the brownie layer, leaving about a ½-inch border around the edges. In heaping spoonfuls, scoop the rest of the brownie batter over the caramel layer. Smooth the brownie batter gently to cover the caramel layer.

9. Bake the brownies for 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, and check to make sure the brownies are completely done by sticking a toothpick into the center of the pan. The brownies are done when the toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.

10. Remove the brownies from the oven and sprinkle with the fleur de sel and coarse sugar.

11. Cool the brownies completely before cutting and serving.

12. The brownies can be stored, tight wrapped at room temperature, for up to 4 days.

(Recipe adapted from Baked Explorations)

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Top 10 List: Favorite Cookie Recipes

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Coooooookies!! You know, Cookie Monster really has it right. He loves life, and tackles the world one cookie at a time. And he makes no apologies for his unbridled love for the sweets that make his eye go all googly. This is my kinda man monster.

As the list of recipes stored on Brown Eyed Baker continues to grow, older recipes fall deeper into the archives. While I highlight some all-time and recent favorites over on the sidebar, those are based on reader traffic. I wanted to take the opportunity to share with you what MY favorite recipes are, so I have developed a Top 10 List series. Each week I will highlight a particular category of recipes and share with my 10 all-time favorites. Some of them may be popular and some may be long-lost in the archives. I’ll keep links to the lists over on the sidebar for easy reference. Now you’ll be able to quickly see which recipes are myfavorites too! And since everyone loves cookies, it was the obvious starting point for this little project. So without further ado, my 10 favorite cookie recipes (in no particular order)…

1. Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies