Spiced Pumpkin Cookies

I finally have my lightbox!  Well, a DIY lightbox that my dad made for me, but it is still fantastic!  Sadly, my cameras ISO was still set to 800 when I was taking pictures... so they are much grainer than I wish they'd be.  These cookies (along with the apple pumpkin muffins) were made with the fresh pumpkin puree that I whipped up yesterday.  These cookies have the texture of cake (see the picture!) but are definitely still a wonderful cookie!  Both my housemates and neighbors loved them (especially the Mickey Mouse shaped cookie for Zenka)!

Spiced Pumpkin Cookies with Dark Chocolate and Butterscotch Chips

Adapted from Joy the Baker

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup canola or corn oil
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup butterscotch chips
• 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven . Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and butter the paper.
2. Stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices together in a medium bowl and set aside. 
3. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs and sugar until smooth and lightened in color, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. 
4. On low speed, mix the oil, pumpkin, and vanilla until blended.
5. Mix in the flour mixture to incorporate it. Mix in the chips. 
6. Place heaping teaspoons full on batter on the prepared cookie sheet.
7. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry, about 14 minutes. 
8. Cool them on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

HOW TO MAKE PUMPKIN PUREE:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Snap the stem off of a pie pumpkin and cut down the middle.
3. In a large rosting or baking pan, place the cut side of the pumpkin down and roast for an hour, or until the pumpkin is soft.
4. Wait until the pumpkin is cool enough to hold and peel off the skin.  Place the pumpkin meat in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.
5. Line a colander with cheese cloth and place pureed pumpkin in the colander and drain for at least 4 hours.
6. Use the pumpkin puree right away or freeze in freezer-safe bags and defrost before using.

Butterscotch Brownie Cake

Happy birthday Kirk!  I made this cake for one of my fantastic friends, Kirk, because he just turned 24!  One of his favorite flavors on the face of this earth is butterscotch (if you don't believe me, refer back to the double butterscotch feature post).  I adapted this recipe from Annie's Eats , but I made a few (possibly) significant changes.  The biggest change I made was separating the eggs, beating the egg whites, and adding them in separately.  I did this to try and lighten the texture of the cake so it wouldn't be as dense as a brownie.  The cake turned out fine - but I'm not sure how it taste's yet (you'll have a wait a few hours for the verdict).  I also used my own chocolate ganache recipe because it hasn't failed me yet.

Butterscotch Blondie Cake

Adapted from Annie's Eats

Ingredients for the butterscotch brownie cake:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 3/4 cups packed light brown sugar
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, separated.
• 1 (11 oz.) package butterscotch chips, divided

Ingredients for the butterscotch ganache:

• 3/4 cup butterscotch chips
• 6 tbsp. heavy whipping cream
• 3 tbsp. unsalted butter

Ingredients for the chocolate ganache:

• 4.5 ounces bittersweet chocolate (I used 60%), chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tbsp butter

Directions:

1. To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter and flour the sides of two 5-inch round cake pans, and line the bottoms with parchment paper.  In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  
2. In a bigger bowl, combine the butter, sugar and vanilla.  Beat on medium speed until creamy.  Scrape down the bowl.  Beat in the egg yolks one at a time.  In a smaller separate bowl, beat the egg whites until light and fluffy until stiff peaks form.  
3. Gradually beat in the flour mixture on low speed just until combined.  Then fold in the egg whites until well combined.  Stir in 1 cup of butterscotch chips with a rubber spatula.
4. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.  Sprinkle with the remaining butterscotch chips.  Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Transfer the pans to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely before carefully removing from the pans.

To make the butterscotch ganache:

1. Combine the cream and the butter in a small saucepan.  
2. Warm over medium-high heat until the mixture is almost boiling.  
3. Place the butterscotch chips in a small, heatproof bowl.  
4. Pour the cream mixture over the butterscotch chips and allow to sit for 30 seconds.  Stir until smooth.

To make the chocolate ganache:

1. In a small saucepan, bring cream to a boil
2. Place chopped chocolate, butter and corn syrup in a small bowl and pour hot cream, through a sieve, over the chopped chocolate.
3. Stir until smooth and creamy in texture.
4. Let stand, stirring occasionally until slightly thickened.
5. Pour over the cooled cake, slice and serve.

To assemble the cake, place one of the cake layers on a wire rack with a sheet of wax paper.  Drizzle butterscotch ganache over the top so that it drips over the edges of the cake.  Drizzle with a small amount of chocolate ganache as well.  Lay the remaining cake layer on top of the first and top with remaining butterscotch and chocolate ganache so that it drips over the edges.  Transfer the cake to a serving platter.

Double Butterscotch Feature!

Ah... it's Art Fair again. And Bivouac at the Art Fair is a very very special time of year. As I did two summers ago, I brought it baked treats for all my co-workers every day that I worked. And as Wednesday was the first day of art fair, I brought in TWO treats; more specifically, butterscotch treats. If anyone was wondering (but I bet you weren't) the reason for the double butterscotch is because my dear friend, and co-worker, loves anything butterscotch in it. Alas, almost every time I bake it never has butterscotch in it. This time I had Kirk in mind as I made two butterscotch treats: Marshmallow Blondies and Triple Chip Cookies. While I did some inventing on the cookies, I got the blondie recipe from this blogger.

First Up: Marshmallow Blondies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butterscotch chips
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups mini marshmallows
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chunks

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13 x 9 baking dish.
2. In a sauce pan over medium heat, melt the butterscotch chips and butter, stirring constantly until smooth. As soon as the they butter and chips are melted remove from heat and transfer the contents of the pan to a mixing bowl (Be sure not to over heat the butter and butterscotch chips or they will separate and appear curdled.)
3. Cool the mixture to room temperature. Using an electric mixer, beat the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, vanilla, and eggs into the butter and butterscotch mixture.
4. Mix in the chocolate chunks and marshmallows. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared ban. Bake for 30 minutes. The center will feel a little soft, but will firm while cooling.
5. Cool completely before cutting.

Second Up: Triple Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp cornstarch (SECRET INGREDIENT!)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 oz dark chocolate chips
• 3 oz white chocolate chips
• 4 oz butterscotch chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Using a fork, beat together the butter and the sugars until smooth and fluffy.
3. Add in the egg and beat until well combined. Add vanilla (and again) beat until well combined.
4. Sift together flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Slowly stir into wet mixture.
5. Stir in chocolate chunks.
6. Drop by tablespoons onto a greased baking lined with parchment paper and bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown around the edges.
7. ENJOY!