I didn’t buy and carve a pumpkin this year. Apparently I’m not the only one. It has been reported that pumpkin patch sales have fallen this year over last (darn economy). So a local pumpkin patch will donate their unsold pumpkins to the zoo for the elephants to snack on. “Elephants love pumpkins.”(I never knew!)
Wanting to do something with pumpkins though I bought a good ol’ can of organic pumpkin from Trader Joe’s and baked Pumpkin Chocolate cookies per a recipe I found in a recent Culinate newsletter. Baking cookies is usually a task I deem tedious and would rather make those fabulously simple one-shot “pan cookies,” but this recipe requires separate spoonfuls, so I couldn’t slack and make bars this time. I psyched myself up for the rounds of baking. I also asked my husband and step-son to join me for a little family bonding time in the kitchen, but, alas, CSI was on TV so I was left on my own with the teaspoons and spices.
My personal pep talk had done its job. I was remarkably zen about dealing with our rental’s old double-decker orange ovens (a la the Brady Brunch). Neither of them work very well (the bottom one actually not at all last time we tried) so all baking attempts usually end in uneven disappointment, but this time I was delightfully pleased with the results. Good bakers probably know this already, but the recipe provided a tip to rotate the baking sheets halfway through, which worked like a charm.
I brought a plateful out to the living room, because this I know: my family loves cookies.
Wanting to do something with pumpkins though I bought a good ol’ can of organic pumpkin from Trader Joe’s and baked Pumpkin Chocolate cookies per a recipe I found in a recent Culinate newsletter. Baking cookies is usually a task I deem tedious and would rather make those fabulously simple one-shot “pan cookies,” but this recipe requires separate spoonfuls, so I couldn’t slack and make bars this time. I psyched myself up for the rounds of baking. I also asked my husband and step-son to join me for a little family bonding time in the kitchen, but, alas, CSI was on TV so I was left on my own with the teaspoons and spices.
My personal pep talk had done its job. I was remarkably zen about dealing with our rental’s old double-decker orange ovens (a la the Brady Brunch). Neither of them work very well (the bottom one actually not at all last time we tried) so all baking attempts usually end in uneven disappointment, but this time I was delightfully pleased with the results. Good bakers probably know this already, but the recipe provided a tip to rotate the baking sheets halfway through, which worked like a charm.
I brought a plateful out to the living room, because this I know: my family loves cookies.
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