Tag Archives: pumpkin cookies

Scrumptious Pumpkin Poke Cake Dessert

Scrumptious Pumpkin Poke Cake Dessert

Sorry, no great pictures of this dessert! I snapped this one quickly before putting on the plastic wrap and taking it to work.

If you have been following my blog for any length of time, you already know that I love pumpkin! There is no better time than the fall to try out a new pumpkin recipe and this fall was no exception. In fact, this recipe is so yummy I’ve made it twice and can’t wait for an opportunity to make it again!

Let me begin by saying that this recipe was adapted from Jennifer W.’s recipe Better Than Sex Pumpkin Dessert on Key Ingredient, so suffice to say…it’s delicious!

I’m sure the original recipe is fabulous…. I only changed it because you can’t buy Heath Bits here and I prefer homemade caramel sauce. Here is my version.

Pumpkin Poke Cake Dessert

Yield 8 – 12

Ingredients:

  • 1   box spice cake mix
  • 2  cups pumpkin puree (be careful not to buy Pumpkin Pie Filling)
  • 1   14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1   tub Cool Whip (I bought the larger size and had some left over, even with a generous layer)
  • ½ bag SKOR Bits (original recipe calls for Heath Bits)
  • 1   batch of Ree Drummond’s homemade Caramel Sauce .  The original recipe calls for a jar of Caramel Sundae Topping, but it is worth the tiny bit of extra effort to make your own ~ so good!

Directions:

  1. Preheat your oven 350º and grease a 9 X 13″ cake pan.
  2. In a large bowl, mix the cake mix and pumpkin puree until a smooth batter forms.
  3. Pour the batter into the pan and bake according to the directions on the cake mix box.
  4. Test with a toothpick to ensure it is cooked. (Toothpick should come out clean when poked into the cake.)
  5. Let cool for about 10 minutes after baking. Using the bottom of a wooden spoon, poke holes all over the top of the cake. (The first time I made this, the holes were nice and uniform, the second time they seemed a bit gooey and I was worried the cake wasn’t cooked even though I’d tested it. Don’t panic, mine tasted great both times.)
  6. Pour the sweetened condensed milk over the cake and spread as is necessary to fill the holes.
  7. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  8. Remove the cake from the fridge and spread a generous layer of cool whip over top of cake. Sprinkle the SKOR bits on top and drizzle with caramel sauce. Reserve the balance of the sauce to serve over each individual piece.
  9. Refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours or overnight, if possible.

This recipe is super easy and a real crowd pleaser! Enjoy and thanks Jennifer!

If you love pumpkin as much as I do, why not check out some of my other recipes!pumpkin cheesecakePumpkin Pie Cake Dessertoatmeal pumpkin sandwich cookie

pumpkin cookiespumpkin pancakesPumpkin LoafPumpkin Salted Caramel Blondies with Glaze

 

Yummy Oatmeal Pumpkin Sandwich Cookies

oatmeal pumpkin sandwich cookieI love pumpkin and was looking for a few new recipes to try this fall. I came across Shannah Coe’s recipe from Just Us Four Blog and the combination of oatmeal and pumpkin sounded divine. The layer of pumpkin cream cheese frosting that is sandwiched between two soft and chewy oatmeal cookies is quite delicious. I think the recipe caught my attention because it reminded me of one of our family’s favourites: Aunty Myrna’s Oatmeal Shortbread Cookies. They are similar to today’s recipe, but with a layer of date filling in between. They are indeed a must try as well.

Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies

Cookie Ingredients:

  • 1 stick butter, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 2/3 cup rolled oats
  • 1 cup flour

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars together until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla. Mix well. Slowly add in the baking soda and the balance of the cookie ingredients. Stir until just mixed. Play the dough in a sealed container or plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Once chilled, create small balls of dough (about 2 teaspoons per ball). Place the balls on parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until done. (I like mine on the “under baked” side, so I tend to stick to 8 or 9 minutes at the most.) Let the baked cookies cool for 1 minute on the pan before transferring them to a wire cooking rack to cool completely before adding the filling.

Filling Ingredients:

  • 12 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 1 stick butter, softened
  • 2/3 cup pumpkin
  • 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground nutmeg
While the cookie dough is chilling, prepare the filling by beating together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add in the pumpkin and mix until fully incorporated. Mix in the cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the powdered sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time, mixing well between each addition.
Match the cookies up by size/shape and then spread the frosting on one of the cookies. Top with a second cookie of equal size.

Additional Notes:

*I found that this recipe made about 4 dozen oatmeal cookies. However, once sandwiches, you only end up with 2 dozen (depending on the size of your original dough balls). Next time, I would double the dough recipe.
*The filling made a huge amount of frosting. I filled all of the cookies and had well over half of it left over. If you double the cookie recipe, there is no need to double the frosting. In fact, half a frosting recipe might even be enough for a double batch of cookies??
*I also found it to be very creamy (and delicious), but the icing would squeeze out as you bit the cookie. I found that keeping the cookies in the fridge really helped with that, but I also wondered if I might play with the recipe a bit next time. I will try using only one package of cream cheese (8 oz) instead of using the suggested 12 oz.  I think this would stiffen the icing up just a bit and perhaps bring out the pumpkin flavour a little more, as well. (If it doesn’t work, I can always add the extra cream cheese to icing and make it according to the suggested recipe.)

Other Recipes You Might Like:

Pumpkin Loaf

Best Ever Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Loaf

pumpkin cheesecake

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple-Cream Filling

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple-Cream Filling

Oatmeal Shortbread Cookies

Aunty Myrna’s Oatmeal Shortbread

Another Yummy Pumpkin Recipe: Whoopie Pies

I needed to bring a treat into work today. When I was searching for a cheesecake recipe for Thanksgiving, I visited the Brown Eyed Baker’s site and found a recipe for Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple-Cream Cheese Filling.  They sounded delicious and I thought they would make the perfect fall treat.Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple-Cream Filling

 

PUMPKIN WHOOPIE PIES WITH MAPLE CREAM CHEESE FILLING

This recipe makes about 4 dozen assembled whoopie pies.

INGREDIENTS:

For the Whoopie Pies:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup canola or vegetable oil
3 cups chilled pumpkin puree (canned pumpkin)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Maple-Cream Cheese Filling:
3 cups powdered sugar
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
4 ounces (½ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger and nutmeg. Set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk the granulated sugar, the dark brown sugar, and the oil together. Add the pumpkin puree and whisk to combine thoroughly. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined.

4. Gradually add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and whisk until completely combined.

5. Use a small cookie scoop or a large spoon to drop a rounded, heaping tablespoon of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart.

6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, making sure that the cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cookie comes out clean. The cookies should be firm when touched. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool completely on a cooling rack.

7. To make the filling, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth with no visible lumps, about 3 minutes. Add the cream cheese and beat until smooth and combined, about 2 minutes. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time, then add the maple syrup and vanilla and beat until smooth.

8. To assemble the whoopie pies: Turn half of the cooled cookies upside down. Pipe or spoon the filling (about a tablespoon) onto that half. Place another cookie, flat side down, on top of the filling. Press down slightly so that the filling spread to the edges of the cookie. Repeat until all the cookies are used. Put the whoopie pies in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to firm before serving.

My Observations:

These cookies were actually pretty easy to make as the cookies themselves didn’t need to be rolled. I find rolling takes lots of time. I loved that these were dropped by the spoonful.  The flip side it that they didn’t bake flat and thus I found my finished product less round and smooth looking.  Not sure how to get that perfect circle when dropping by a spoonful. Oh well! Also, I found the icing to be a bit thin.  Very creamy and delicious, but the cookies seemed to slide.  I have another recipe for a chocolate whoopie pie and this doesn’t happen.  I could have added more icing sugar, but decided to put a toothpick through them and freeze the cookies overnight.  They tasted great and I am sure they will be fine once the icing has cooled.  I am thinking the maple syrup thins it out a bit or perhaps my butter or cream cheese was a bit too soft.  It doesn’t matter.  I find these to be very tasty and would totally make them again – when I have more time to play with the icing consistency and see if I can get a cookie that is a bit flatter to make a better “sandwich”.  My other recipe is made from a rolled cookie.  They are quite sticky to roll, but do come out nice and round and a bit flatter.  I am not sure, but I think these maybe too sticky to roll into a ball.  The recipe does say to use a cookie scoop or spoon, maybe the round cookie scoop,would create a more even consistency.  I don’t have one, so I am just guessing?

pumpkin cookies

You can see that mine don’t look nearly as “perfect” as the Brown Eyed Bakers, but they still taste pretty good.

Want to learn how the pro’s blog? If you’re interested in earning money from home, it makes sense to learn blogging and internet marketing techniques from the best on the web. If you’d like to receive the same training that’s helped me to launch my blog, you should click to find out how I did it.