Perfect for Fall...Pumpkin Spice Shortbread with Chopped Pecans

I love Fall. It's absolutely my favourite time of year. The air is crisp, everything smells better, the leaves turn beautiful shades of red, orange and yellow. Yes, I know it gets chilly, but who wants to turn the oven on when it's eighty degrees outside? So in honour of my favourite time of year and the best baking weather you could ask for, here's a recipe for shortbread cookies made with a bit of pumpkin and aromatic spices, and rolled in chopped pecans.

First cream butter, pumpkin and sugar.

 

Then add spices and vanilla.

Add flour.

After the dough chills a bit, form it into balls and garnish with chopped nuts.

Bake and enjoy!

Pumpkin Spice Shortbread with Chopped Pecans 
2/3  c  butter, softened
1/3  c  pumpkin puree
1/2  t   vanilla
1/2  c  confectioners sugar
1/4  t  cinnamon
1/8  t  nutmeg
1/8  t  all spice
pinch of ginger
2      c  flour
            chopped pecans, for garnish

Cream butter, pumpkin puree and sugar. Beat in vanilla and spices. Add flour in two additions, mixing gently. Do not over mix or your cookies will be tough.
Chill the dough briefly (30 to 60 minutes should do it). Roll dough into 1 inch balls and garnish with chopped pecans (you can either sprinkle a few on top of each ball if you don't like your cookies super nutty, or roll the ball in the nuts to cover completely).
Bake at 350F on parchment lined baking sheets for 15-20 minutes or until the bottoms start to turn golden brown.

The Williams-Sonoma Baking Book: Pistachio-Spice Cookies

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I didn't realize until today how much of my free time I filled with the Olympic for the last two weeks. Now that they're over, what's an unemployed girl to do? Bake of course! Today's recipe was for Pistachio-Spice Cookies from the Williams-Sonoma Baking Book. They were pretty easy to make, but I wasn't entirely satisfied with the results. These cookies are basically butter, sugar, eggs, flour, flavour and pistachios. Easy. 

First, butter and brown sugar are creamed together.

Then, molasses, flavouring and egg yolks are added. Finally, the dry ingredients are mixed 
                                                                                  in

                                                     and of course chopped pistachios.

The dough is then formed into two rectangular logs then left to chill out in the refrigerator for at least two hours.

Once they've chilled, they're sliced then baked.

I thought the cookies were a bit on the bland side while still managing to be a little artificial tasting. They also didn't hold their shape well while baking, despite the fact that I allowed them to chill for more than the minimum two hours suggested.

This one is probably not a recipe I'd make again.

UPDATE: I did try these again. This time I left the dough in the refrigerator for almost 48 hours before baking. I also left out the almond extract. The flavours blended together nicely and it was a really tasty cookie. The spices made it feel like comfort food while the texture allowed it to still be a light treat. Perfect as an afternoon snack with a cup of tea or coffee.