Showing posts with label pumpkin spice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pumpkin spice. Show all posts

Saturday, November 7, 2015

Slice and Bake Spice Cookies with Citrus Glaze and Sea Salt

IT�S COOKIE SEASON YOU GUYS!!!

So many cookies, so few months until I need to squeeze into a maid of honor dress for my sister�s wedding. Why is this time of year just sooo unavoidably cozy and carby and sugary? 
We were still having crisp but sort of warmish weather right up until daylight savings, and it�s like when the clocks changed, Seattle got all cold and chilly. And dark at 5PM. And also, how on earth is it November!? Ugh, it�s so insane how fast time flies. But anyway, the point is, it�s stormy and gloomy outside, and warm and cinnamon-cookie scented inside.    
I almost didn't share these cookies here... they're not over the top special or crazy or "the next big thing," they're just a really solidly awesome buttery spice cookie with the perfect chewy-crispy texture. My secret? Chocolate chip cookie dough! Even without the chocolate, ccc dough has the best texture and buttery brown sugar flavor. Last winter when I was making chocolate chip cookie variations like my life depended on it, I started rolling the dough into logs and freezing it. The dough works really well as a slice and bake, and the cookies are perfectly shaped. Oh, and the fresh citrus-cinnamon glaze dries into the prettiest smooth shell coating. So simple and so good! 

Spice Cookies with Citrus Glaze and Sea Salt
Makes about 36 cookies

These slice and bake cookies work best when the dough is frozen, so plan to make the dough a day in advance. 

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar (or 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar, if you have it) 
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
1/4 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1.5 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (store-bought or make your own
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 

1 cup powdered sugar
3-4 tablespoons fresh citrus juice (I used grapefruit and clementine)
Pinch of cinnamon
Flaked sea salt

In stand mixer or with hand mixer, cream together butter, granulated sugar (and turbinado, if you using), and brown sugar until fluffy and smooth, beating for about 3 minutes. Beat in egg, vanilla, and fresh ginger, scraping bowl to combine. 

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice (not the extra cinnamon though). 

With mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to butter mixture, and beat until combined. Separate dough into two balls. 

Lay out a sheet of plastic wrap, and sprinkle half the cinnamon on it. Roll one dough ball gently in cinnamon until the outside is coated, then roll into a log (about 1.5 inch diameter), and wrap with plastic wrap. Repeat with 2nd dough ball. Place both logs in a freezer bag, or additional plastic wrap, and freeze until frozen through. 

To bake:
Preheat oven to 360 degrees F. Pull out one log, and slice in 1/2 inch thick slices (should be about 18 per log). Arrange spaced evenly on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, and bake for about 12 minutes, until golden. Cool on a wire rack.

To glaze:
Whisk together powdered sugar, cinnamon, and citrus juice (start with 3 T of the juice, and add more if needed). The glaze should be thin and runny, but not watery. Once cookies are completed cool, dip the top of each one in the glaze. When the glaze is set but not totally hardened and dried, and a few flakes of salt to the top of each one. Let glaze dry completely, then eat!

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Pumpkin Spice Almond Milk + Coffee

PUMPKIN SPICE ALL THE THINGS!  


Pumpkin Spice Almond Milk + Coffee // Loves Food, Loves to Eat
Man, you all really like your pumpkin spice this year! I can't even tell you how many pumpkin spice Facebook posts and memes I've seen this fall (and fall only just started!). And Pinterest, jeez louise. Pumpkin spice for days. My favorite pumpkin spice incarnation has to be beer. I love a good pumpkin spice beer! This one is my favorite right now� it tastes like pumpkin pie!

I'll leave the beer making to the professionals, but one pumpkin spice treat I will make at home is the PSL. Pumpkin. Spice. Latte. Sort of. So� I mentioned this before, but I'm not a huge fan of sweet, milky coffee. I'm obsessed with (and maybe addicted to) the actual taste of strong, black coffee. But, like everyone else, when the leaves start turning orange, I start craving a little pumpkin spice in my coffee. I don't like the taste of soy milk, and I hate the taste of regular (cow) milk (yes, even in a latte, I can taste it), so I decided to make my own pumpkin spice almond milk to add to coffee! 

Pumpkin Spice Almond Milk + Coffee // Loves Food, Loves to Eat
This mix is sweet but not overly so, and has just the right amount of pumpkin and spice. Make a jar-full, and take it to work to add to your coffee all week! It feels all cozy and indulgent, and makes me want to bundle up in a warm sweater! 

Pumpkin Spice Almond Milk + Coffee // Loves Food, Loves to Eat

PPS. I read the back of a pumpkin pie spice jar, and it said it contained mace (spice). I remember there always being a jar of mace in my mom's spice rack, but I honestly couldn't remember anything about it. So I looked it up� did you know that mace is the dried lacy layer of the nutmeg seed? Weird! Feel free to throw some of that in your spice mix, if you have it! 

PPS. Since you'll have extra pumpkin puree after making this, go ahead and make some pumpkin pie granola too. 

Pumpkin Spice Almond Milk + Coffee 

Pumpkin pie spice is a breeze to make on your own. I use just cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg, but you can also add cloves and cardamom if you want. For the spiced milk, you can also try adding maple syrup instead of the brown sugar!

1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
pinch allspice
pinch nutmeg (fresh ground is best)
pinch salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (also try almond, to pump up the flavor of the almond milk!)
2 tablespoons pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling, be sure the only ingredient is pumpkin)

To serve: Coffee, fresh nutmeg, whipped cream (optional)

Combine almond milk through pumpkin puree in a small pot and whisk to combine. Heat over medium until it starts to bubble, then simmer stirring occasionally for another minute or two. Taste, and add more sugar/spices/pumpkin as desired. Use right away, or let mixture return to room temperature before refrigerating. Store in a jar in the fridge for up to a week, and give it a good shake or stir before using. 

To serve, I like to do a 60/40 coffee to almond milk ratio, but test it out and figure out what you like best.