Enchanted Pumpkin Cookies, #CreativeCookieExchange

Blinged out in a pink, poufy prom gown, Glinda asks Dorothy, “Are you a good witch or bad witch?” (In the film classic, The Wizard of Oz.) Besides handing Dorothy the ruby slippers, Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, also offers up gems such as, “If we know ourselves, we’re always home, anywhere.”



Pumpkin cookies topped with chocolate witch hats are good!


Getting to know ourselves can be scary business though. Truly looking sometimes means the mirror reflects a haunted Halloween witch or the green-faced Wicked Witch of the West. Yet, if you’ve seen the musical, Wicked, you know there is a back story and reasons for "bad" behavior.



There is something magical about pumpkin and chocolate.


Wisdom can lurk under pockmarked guises. The “Double, double, toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.” hags had insight for Shakespeare’s Macbeth. (Act 4, Scene 1, Lines 10-11) He ignored them. The result?  His wife turns into a sleepwalking mad woman and Macbeth gets his head chopped off!



There is only a yummy soft pumpkin cookie lurking under these chocolate witches' hats.


When I’m brave enough to face the truth offered up by the ugly ones, I’m better able to emulate the first witch I met on Japanese TV: Mahotsukai, Sally-chan (Witch Sally.) Sally-chan was the schoolgirl anime version of the American TV classic, Bewitched. Her desire was always to give and help those in distress. Often Sally-chan’s normal schoolgirl cover was almost blown by her bumbling friend, Yoshiko and comedy would ensue.

For October’s Creative Cookie Exchange celebrating Halloween - scroll down for your invite - I am contributing Enchanted Pumpkin Cookies. The soft pumpkin cookies are topped with typical witch hats made of kiss chocolates and chocolate frosting...Hats off to the witches of the world! The good witches who battle the wicked ones, click their heels 3 times and know they are home.

Enchanted Pumpkin Cookies

A magical combo of pumpkin and chocolate will enchant your senses in any season! The notes of pumpkin are neither overpowering nor underplayed. The soft cookie serves as the perfect cushion for a chocolate witch’s hat.

This recipe is inspired by Very Best Baking by Nestle.

Ingredients: 

Yields approximately 60 petite pumpkin cookies.

  • 2½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1½ cups sugar
  • ½ cup softened butter
  • 1 cup canned pure pumpkin
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 can of chocolate frosting
  • ½ cup of powdered sugar
  • 1 bag of Hershey’s Chocolate Kisses
Directions: 

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, powder, spices and salt. Set aside.

Whip the sugar and butter together until fluffy. (About 5 minutes.)

Add in the pumpkin, egg and vanilla.

Slowly beat in the flour mixture.

With a mini ice cream scooper, drop rounds of dough onto parchment lined cookie sheets.

Freeze for 2 hours or ideally, overnight.

Ninja Note: Freezing as you are probably aware avoids cookies merging and melting into each other in a hot oven.

Bake in in a 350 degree for 16 to 18 minutes. Cool completely.

Whip up the frosting with the powdered sugar. Scoop into a piping bag with a large round #2A tip. Pipe circles onto the cookies. Place chocolate kisses into the centers for the peaked witches’ hats.

The theme this month is Halloween! Spooky, silly, creepy, we’ve got it all! If you are a blogger and want to join in the fun, contact Laura at thespicedlife AT gmail DOT com and she will get you added to our Facebook group, where we discuss our cookies and share links. You can also just use us as a great resource for cookie recipes--be sure to check out our Pinterest Board and our monthly posts (you can find all of them here at The Spiced Life). You will be able to find them the first Tuesday after the 15th of each month! Also, if you are looking for inspiration to get in the kitchen and start baking, check out what all of the hosting bloggers have made:



No tricks required to make these easy bite-sized pumpkin cookie treats! 
 

Wishing you magic! 

The Ninja Baker

© ™ Watkinson 2012

The Ninja Baker has guest blogged and contributed recipes to numerous food sites. These additional recipes can be found here.

 

 

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Tags: 
#pumpkin cookies
#WizardofOz
#Shakespeare witches
#CreativeCookieExchange