Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Mocha Filling

The first clue was when I started seeing giant orange pumpkins at my local grocery store. Second clue was when the tree leaves started turning red and yellow. The third was when Halloween commercials started running on tv one after another. My very first Fall in the USA is officially here. And before I engage in this quintessential Fall cliche, let me first say that in my defense, I have never had the opportunity to experience this pumpkin fascination in all my years of living in the other part of the world. The only thing pumpkinny I’ve ever had was a Pumpkin latte! I once worked as a barista, and when I first heard of a pumpkin latte I actually thought it referred to the size of the cup! You know like small, medium, large… pumpkin. When I eventually found out what it was, I went and bought a small can of pumpkin puree and scooped up a tablespoon and dumped it in my espresso before adding the steamed milk and froth for my cappuccino and then topped it with some cinnamon. Yummylicious! So here I am, several years later, with a new opportunity to explore a world of new flavours and how could I possibly not take it?

Say hello to my Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Mocha Filling!

It took me two tries to get this right. The first batch of cookies was too hard and not very flavourful. I had to tweak it to make sure the end product was crisp but not hard, perfect as a plain cookie or a filled sandwich cookie, with the flavour of pumpkin and spice shining through!

Baking the cookies was the tricky part. If I took them out when the middle was too soft, they ended up not being crunchy enough. So the trick was to roll them out quite thin so they bake more evenly, and quicker. Plus the crunch you get when biting in to thin cookies is always  more satisfying!

I used a mocha ganache for the filling –  they need to be filled just before being served, or they become soggy after a few hours. However, I found a way to prevent the cookies from getting soggy – brush some melted bitter sweet chocolate on the cookies (see image below), let it harden and then pipe the filling in to the middle.

This is an optional step, and if anyone has found an easier way… please do let me know! 🙂 Personally I liked the slight bitterness that the bitter sweet chocolate added to the cookie.

I sprinkled extra pumpkin spice on the filling and cookies to intensify the pumpkin flavour. This too is optional but totally recommended as it truly elevated that amazing pumpkin flavour!

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5 from 10 votes

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Author: Dini K.

Print Rate

Ingredients:

• ▢ 4 tbsp butter
• ▢ 4 tbsp pumpkin puree
• ▢ 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp sugar
• ▢ 1 1/2 tbsp pumpkin Spice
• ▢ 1 1/4 cup approximately 300g Flour
• ▢ 1/2 tsp baking powder
• ▢ 1 egg yolk

Instructions:

• Beat the butter, pumpkin puree and sugar until smooth and fluffy.
• Beat the egg yolk and pumpkin spice in to the above mix.
• Sift the flour and baking powder and incorporate it in to the butter mix on low or with a wooden spoon.
• Mix the flour in gently till you form a soft dough.
  
• Form the dough in to a flat disc and wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.
• Roll out the dough to approximately 1/8 of an inch thickness between two parchment papers (to prevent sticking) or on a lightly floured countertop.
• Preheat oven to 325°F
• With a 2 inch cookie cutter, cut out cookies and place them gently on a parchment paper an inch apart. Re-roll the dough once to cut more cookies.
• If the cookies get too soft, keep the dough in the freezer for a few minutes to harden so it is easier to handle.
• Bake the cookies 10-15 minutes until the edges are crispy, and the middle is not too soft.
• Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the baking tray for a few minutes before letting them cool on a wire rack.
• When cookies are cooled completely store them in an air-tight container. These can be served as is, or with a dusting of icing sugar or with a mocha filling (Recipe follows)

“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”

Did you make this?Tag me on Instagram!I love seeing what you’ve made! Tag me on Instagram at @TheFlavorBender or leave me a comment & rating below.

Looking for more recipes?Sign up for my free recipe newsletter to get new recipes in your inbox each week! Find me sharing more inspiration on Pinterest and Instagram.

5 from 10 votes

Mocha Ganache for the filling

Author: Dini K.

Print Rate

Ingredients:

• ▢ 7 oz Semi Sweet Chocolate or Milk Chocolate
• ▢ 2 tbsp corn syrup
• ▢ 4 tbsp cream
• ▢ 1 tsp instant coffee granules

Instructions:

• In a saucepan or microwave-proof medium bowl, heat the cream and coffee for a few seconds to warm it up. Just warm enough to melt the coffee granules.
• Add the chocolate and corn syrup and gently stir until chocolate is just melted (with a few pieces left over).
• If using a microwave - heat the chocolate cream mix in 30 sec bursts until the chocolate is melted (with a few pieces left over)
• Mix the ganache well until all the chocolate is melted from the residual heat.
• Let it cool completely to room temperature. The ganache thickens as it cools.
• Just before serving the cookies - pipe some ganache between two cookies and make a sandwich.

“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”

Did you make this?Tag me on Instagram!I love seeing what you’ve made! Tag me on Instagram at @TheFlavorBender or leave me a comment & rating below.

I absolutely loved these cookies. The pumpkin and spice flavours shone through with each bite, and the mocha flavour in the ganache gave a nice balance without making the cookie too sweet.

This was my very first attempt at baking with pumpkin and I think they came out great (If I do say so myself!). And now my head is spinning with more ideas for recipes that star the versatile pumpkin. There are so many creative and yummy ways to use pumpkin.

My friend Katie over at “The perfect Brownie” made these brownies inside a pumpkin… which I think was a fantastic idea!

And how about these Pumpkin Caramel Cupcakes?

For now though, I am happy enjoying these amazing cookies PLUS their just as awesome counterparts – Mocha Cookies with Pumpkin Spice ganache with a warm cup of coffee/milk! 🙂

Which do you think would be your favourite? The recipe for the mocha cookies with pumpkin spice ganache will be featured here soon can be found right here!! Make sure to subscribe below for updates from giramuk’s kitchen so you won’t miss out!

You can follow me on facebook, twitter, instagram or google-plus for more updates  and new recipes. What’s your favourite Fall-inspired go-to recipe/ingredient? Let me know in the comments below! I’m still trying to figure out mine!