Cranberry Pumpkin Cookies

Fall is my absolute favorite season.  The colors, the smell of leaves, the crisp, damp air; everything about the fall ignites my senses and makes me want to spend as much time as possible outside.  And…one of my favorite things about fall are pumpkins.  I don’t go for those overly sugary pumpkin coffee drinks, but I do get excited about cooking with pumpkin.

A longstanding joke in our household is my incessant need for canned pumpkin each fall (I’m too impatient to prepare pumpkin myself).  Years ago, a pumpkin shortage made canned pumpkin difficult (and expensive) to find.  The following year, concerned that I’d miss my window of pumpkin opportunity, I had my husband pick up canned pumpkin as soon as he saw it in the store.  He came home with no fewer than SIX cans (that’s love, isn’t it?)!  So, each year, when a chill overtakes the warm, summer breeze, my husband asks if I need any canned pumpkin.  Not long after, my culinary pumpkin creations commence.

Today I’m sharing a wonderful pumpkin recipe given to me by my mother: Cranberry Pumpkin Cookies.  I like the fact that these cookies aren’t overly sweet, and the cranberry adds a delicious tart compliment to the squashy-pumpkiny deliciousness.  These cookies have a soft, bread-like consistency, and lend themselves well to a muffin or bread recipe (just adjust your baking times accordingly).

CRANBERRY PUMPKIN COOKIES

1/2 c. softened butter

1 c. sugar*

1 tsp. vanilla

1 egg

1 c. pumpkin puree

2 1/4 c. flour

2 tsp. baking powder.

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. fresh cranberries**

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 T. fresh orange zest

1/2 c. chopped walnuts

*I substituted a cup of brown sugar for granulated sugar in my recipe, as it was all I had on hand.  The result was delicous!

**I substituted 1 c. of dried cranberries (or Craisins) for fresh cranberry.

Heat oven to 375 degrees and grease two cookie sheets.  Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.  Beat in vanilla, egg, and pumpkin.  In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; stir dry mixture into pumpkin mixture until well blended.  Cut fresh berries in half and stir in with zest and nuts.  Drop by teaspoons onto prepped baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.  This recipe makes 36 cookies.