Just over a week ago my coworker organized a cake sale to raise money for Mind. The idea was that the Explainer team would bring in treats (homemade or store bought) and then donate some money to the cause. Mind is a lovely charity that provides advice and support for people experience mental health problems and they work to promote awareness and understanding in society. And my colleagues and I are big fans of sweets, we will eat pretty much anything, so it’s a great idea to put our love for food towards a good cause.
Since it’s autumn, I’m pumpkin crazy and was originally going to make pumpkin bread. But then when I was in Baltimore I bought some sprinkles called “micro leaves” in autumn colors and I just had to use them. So it was going to be pumpkin and it was going to be cookies. In case you don’t have awesome colorful sprinkles you can easily do this recipe without the sprinkles – but I do think they add a nice flair.
People made all kinds of things for the cake sale though. There was cheesecake, an apple tart, brownies, cookies, savory pastries, and so much more. It was the best day of work ever. Usually where there are sweets on the table everything is gone before my first break. This day there were cakes all day. ALL DAY! And more kept appearing throughout the day. Best, sugariest, day ever. Even better we raised £170 for Mind. Yay team.
I was really pleased with these cookies because they have all the spicy warm flavors of pumpkin spice and they are so soft and cake like. I was also really pleased because at the end of the day I went home with an empty tin. Always a sign of a good treat.
This recipe is adapted from Two Peas in Their Pods. In that recipe they use cinnamon chips
The other thing is the original recipe covered the cookies in cinnamon sugar – I used sprinkles instead. But I think if you don’t have sprinkles try out the cinnamon sugar. Just mix 1/4 cup sugar with 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Roll dough into balls, roll through sugar mix, and put on the try to bake.
I found this batter extremely sticky so I put it in the fridge for 1 hour. I like this because it makes the batter easier to work with and it gives the cookies a thicker chewier texture which I like. If you’re pressed for time you can bake it right away but you’ll likely get a flatter crisper cookie (and messy fingers).
Finally, just to come back to the reason why I made these cookies – for the cake sale to raise money for Mind. If you, or someone you know needs support with mental health please consider reaching out to Mind. Click on the link for their website, or call 0300 123 3393, or text 86463. Mind works with people in the UK and I’m familiar with them because of the cake sale. I’m not familiar with resources in the US, but if you know of good resources and things worth sharing please write them in the comments below. Anyway thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy these cookies!
Adapted from Two Peas in Their Pods.
Messy level: Making these cookies is similar to any other cookie recipe – add dry ingredients to wet and there you go. But this recipe is pretty sticky so you’ll get messy as you form the cookies. All in all, pretty easy.
- 2½ cups/ 312 grams all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¾ cup/ 170 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup/ 100 grams granulated sugar
- ½ cup/ 110 grams packed brown sugar
- ¾ cup/ 175 grams pumpkin puree
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup/ 170 grams butterscotch chips
- colorful sprinkles, optional
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices.
- Using an electric mixer on medium, cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. This takes about 3-5 minutes.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the pumpkin, egg, and vanilla and mix on low speed until combined.
- Stop the mixture and slowly fold in the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.
- Gently fold in the butterscotch chips.
- Put the batter in the fridge and let it chill for 1 hour or up to overnight.
- About 10-15 minutes before the batter is ready to come out of the fridge preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Shape dough into balls about 1 inches in diameter. Flatten slightly and sprinkle with colorful sprinkles if using.
- Place the dough balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are just brown around the edges.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 1-2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely (if you can resist).
