(UN)FOLLOWING THE RECIPE.
Let us discuss the website Pinterest....I know I am slow to the game here, but it is the best thing. And also maybe the worst. Somehow, it manages to be an amazing source of inspiration, while simultaneously being an amazing source of complete time-wasting. Still, I often find great DIY ideas, organizing tips, or recipes - like this one. For whatever reason, pumpkin cookies sounded really delicious and necessary to me at the exact moment I came across this pin, so I baked them. Well, sort of.Often when I come across a recipe I want to try, I change it. Not because I know better (trust me, I don't) but because I don't want to use corn starch, or corn syrup, or sugar, or canned pumpkin, or some other ick ingredient. And most of the time, it truly doesn't matter! As long as I follow the basic measurements, even if my end product is slightly different in texture or appearance, it always tastes great! In the case of this pumpkin cookie recipe, I didn't want to use canned pumpkin and I didn't have the real thing, so I substituted butternut squash. Butternut squash is actually wonderful to bake with. It has a spicy sort of flavor and is similar to pumpkin. It even makes a great pie! I also cut the recipe in half, used honey instead of sugar (although I did add a little bit of brown sugar), and substituted real butter for Crisco. As for the icing, I didn't have cream cheese around, but my days baking for Whole Foods taught me nothing if not how to make a fantastic chocolate frosting. And sense I cut out a lot of sugar in the cookies, I splurged a bit with the icing! In the end, it all comes down to making a recipe work for you. If you are trying to eat healthier or give up a certain food, you don't necessarily have to sacrifice that recipe you love. It certainly worked out for me this time!So, here is the recipe for...
Hannah's Not-Pumpkin Cookies with Not-Cream Cheese Icing:
COOKIE INGREDIENTS:
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup honey
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 cup cooked butternut squash
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 3 cups flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp ginger
- pinch of salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
The first part of this recipe is the one that takes the most time: baking the squash. It is, however, incredibly simple. You put the squash, AS IS, in the oven and bake at 350 until you can easily poke a fork in it (45 minutes to an hour). I put mine in a little bread pan, just in case there was any leakage. After it cools, you can remove the skin and scoop out the seeds and guts. What is left should give you about a cup of mushy, orange squash.Then, you mix all your ingredients! Cream the butter and honey/sugar together first, next adding the egg, and continuing to add the ingredients as they appear on the list. The mixture is not incredibly thick, so use a spoon to place golf ball-sized clumps onto a cookie sheet. Cook for about ten minutes at 350. This recipe makes (even after cutting it in half) A LOT - about 2 1/2 dozen HUGE, really light and fluffy cookies. I removed the cookies as soon as I saw the edges becoming even slightly brown, but I like really chewy cookies.
FROSTING INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup confectioners sugar
- 3 tbsp cocoa
- 3 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
Whip the ingredients together for several minutes. If you're fancy, you could actually use a mixer, but hand-whipping works just as well! Stick the frosting in the fridge for a while as the cookies cool, and it will be a perfect spreadable texture when you are ready to ice!