Pumpkin cookies

With Thanksgiving around the corner, it’s definitely time for all things pumpkin.  While I’m not crazy about pumpkin pie, I do love these pumpkin cookies – cakey yet moist, not too sweet, and fragrant with cinnamon and nutmeg.  As a finishing touch, each cookie is topped with a piece of walnut for a bit of crunch and a toasty flavor.

They’re mixed by hand and baked in just over 10 minutes, which makes them a favorite for those chilly autumn afternoons when fresh-from-the-oven cookies seem like a necessity.  Like today, for example – a grey day in Wisconsin, spent inside reading cozily with D, seemed the perfect opportunity for pumpkin cookies.

There’s something inherently satisfying about making any baked goods, and these are especially rewarding since it takes rather little time or effort to produce something very warm and cheery.  

Pumpkin cookies
1 15 oz can pumpkin (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 1/3 cup white sugar
3/4 cup canola oil
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp water (or milk)
Walnuts


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix pumpkin, sugar, oil, egg, and vanilla.

In a separate, smaller bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Stir dry ingredients into pumpkin mixture, along with water, until well-blended.

Use a tablespoon to scoop cookies onto baking sheets, in mounds slightly larger than a golf ball.  Top each with a walnut piece, pressing down slightly.

Bake 10-12 minutes, until cookies spring back when touched.  Makes just over two dozen cookies.  They’re best when eaten the same day (or frozen); when stored they will become very moist after a day or so.