Pumpkin Butterscotch Cookies

 

 

   These are Phil's favorite fall time cookie. I will admit that they are one of my favorites too. I've been thinking about making them for a few weeks now and as we are expecting a bit of snow later on this week I think I may have missed the mark on fall. Luckily it is still October, and pumpkin will be in vogue for at least 2 more months. These cookies are more cakey than say a chocolate chip. They are also pretty sweet,  but that can be adjusted by the amount of butterscotch chips that you add.

The recipe took some trial and error to perfect, but I couldn't be more proud of the fruit of my experimentation. The secret is in NOT over-mixing the dough.

Ingredients:

4oz      Butter

1 C      Sugar

1 C      Pumpkin Puree

1 tsp    Vanilla

2 C      All-Purpose Flour

1/4 tsp  Salt

1 tsp     Baking Soda

1 tsp     Baking Powder

1 tsp     Cinnamon

1/2 tsp  Nutmeg

1/4 tsp  Cloves

1/2 tsp  Ginger

1 1/2 C  Butterscotch  Chips

1/2 tsp   Pumpkin Pie Spice

Pumpkin Pie Spice (make this amount and save it in a small jar or just adjust the amounts for a single batch of cookies)

1/2 oz    Black Pepper

1/2 oz    Ginger

1/4 oz    Mace

1/4 oz    Nutmeg

Procedure:

- Preheat oven to 350 F. (bake time approx. 12 minutes)

  make sure racks are in the center of the oven

- Cream butter and sugar with electric mixer on Med. speed until light and fluffy

- Beat in pumpkin and vanilla

- In a separate bowl measure out the dry ingredients, sift them or use a dry whisk and stir it all together to make sure that the spices, salt and leavening are all evenly distributed

- Take the paddle or beaters out of the mixing bowl with the butter and pumpkin mixture (you will not need the mixer any more)

- In 3 additions, add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture by folding

- After the last addition, before all the dry has been completely mixed in, add the butterscotch chips

- Continue to fold together until all the flour has been mixed in and the chips are distributed evenly.

-Drop the dough on to cookie sheets in 1 1/2 oz portions (approx. 3Tbs)

  Really you can make them whatever size you want, but this is my standard home size

-Press each cookie down lightly with your fingers (these babies don't spread very much so they need a little help to flatten out)

- Bake for 9 minutes then check for doneness

- Flip pans around and bake for approx. 3 more minutes

 - The cookies should be very soft, matte in color, not glossy (glossy means doughy), if you bake these until they are golden on top they will be overdone

- Allow them to rest 3-5 min on the hot cookie sheets before moving them to a cooling rack

Minneapolis, MN

Minneapolis, MN

One of our favorite places in the world. I love it because I was born there. Minnesota is and will forever be my motherland. Phil loves is for other more practical reasons. (none of which has to do with the length or potency of the winters there)

 

Reasons we love Minneapolis MN:

1. Friends and Family who live there
2. Summer: perfect temperatures for being outdoors and enjoying any of the available 10,000+ lakes. May through September experiences an average low of 53 F. and high of 78 F.
3. the Food scene

check out http://www.vita.mn/ for local information on Food, Concerts, the Arts etc.

 

 

Our Recommendations



Eat Here

Lucia's- www.lucias.com It was here that I began my Pastry career, I could not have asked for a better beginning. To this day it is the 1st place we return to each and every time we find ourselves back in the neighborhood. Whether you are looking for coffee and a breakfast pastry, a casual/upscale lunch or dinner, or just a few drinks and an appetizer Lucia's has you covered. Any choice is the best and most delicious choice you could have made.
La Belle Vie- www.labellevie.us This is where Phil and I had dinner the night he proposed. I'm pretty certain that neither of us has had a better meal sense. NOTE: this is a Special Occasion place, unless of course you happen to have a couple $100's lying around. Either way the price is worth the experience 100%

Punch Pizza- www.punchpizza.com Neapolitan style. Phil and I changed our entire homemade pizza identity because we needed to have this pizza in our lives after we moved away. Don't forget the Chopped Italian Salad!

Brasa- www.brasa.us Its a Rotisserie. I've never been to any other Rotisserie; I don't think I'll ever want to. This place satisfies that place in your heart that longs for Southern comfort food, and then rearranges that place so that nothing else will do. *Great place for Gluten Free Food!!!

Alma- restaurantalma.com Confession: I have not actually been to this establishment. Two things I do know 1. Alma was opened by Alexander Roberts 8 years before he opened Brasa (yes the amazing Rotisserie just above on this list) 2. Ann Bridges is the Pastry Chef. I worked with Ann at Lucia's, when we were both at the very beginning of our pastry careers. Her dedication to her craft is immense. I respect her work entirely, and cannot wait until I can take the previous confession off of this note.

Sebastian Joes- sebastianjoesicecream.com If you know Phil you know that he holds strong opinions; you also know that he LOVES ice cream. If you ask him where to get the best ice cream he will send you here. In fact we would just take you ourselves, why miss an opportunity to enjoy the best ice cream there is?

Café Lurcat/ Bar Lurcat- www.cafelurcat.com (Also available in Naples, FL if you happen to be in that neighborhood instead) Get the Lurcat Burgers, get the Lurcat Burgers,...get the Lurcat Burgers. (Bar Menu)

Stella's Fish Café & Prestige Oyster bar- stellasfishcafe.com Amazing Happy hour specials! There are fancier places in town to get oysters, but why not enjoy them in your favorite pair of jeans while you sip two for one drinks? (September- April is the best time to get fresh oysters in the Midwest)


Go Here

Lake Calhoun, Lake of The Isles, Lake Harriet - If you find one you've found all 3. They are connected by paved trails which are accessible to walkers, bike riders, and roller bladders alike. Located in Uptown. Just a 4 block walk from Lucia's!

Sculpture Garden- garden.walkerart.org Great place to spend one of those perfect Summer afternoons.

Twins or Vikings game- Let's be honest I'm running on loyalty at this point, but win or lose live sports can be a lot of fun. (Timberwolves... have yet to inspire my loyalty)

Ice Skating- www.thedepotminneapolis.com/ice-rink.php If you're not quite accustomed to the winter weather you can still enjoy the season. If it happens to be a tolerably nice day there are countless outdoor rinks that are open to the public.


Shop Here

Kitchen Window- www.kitchenwindow.com Greatest Kitchen Store. Everything you need, everything you think you need, anything you think someone else might need.

Magers & Quinn- www.magersandquinn.com Need a good book before you hit the beach (the beach that happens to be a lovely 4 block walk from here)?

CB2- www.cb2.com Crate&Barrel's cool little brother. Not many locations around so take the time to see and feel for yourself what many people can only imagine via their magazines and web site. We are currently furnishing our apartment with CB2... just say'n.

Mall of America- www.mallofamerica.com This place will blow your mind and your pocketbook before you can say "Did you remember where we parked?" You might as well plan to make a day of it. 1: because everything is there. 2: because when you finally find your way out you will be left with exactly 0% energy for anything else. Not to say that the parking lot or the layout is extraordinarily confusing; it's just the enormity of it all. One more thing... the amusement park was way better as Camp Snoopy. Charles M. Schulz's characters belong there, Sponge Bob is an intruder.

After Reminiscing over all of this, what I wouldn't give for a trip to the Twin Cities!

 

Time

An average day in my life is a 24 hour wrestle with time. As of now, it being my very own, time has proven ownership of me. It taunts me with its passing, and I am brought to tears when I realize how much of it is gone and how little I have as evidence of its existence. I try to tame it. My mind works best in subdivision, so to me it only makes sense to divide my time evenly between work, housekeeping, relationships, hobbies. One portion of each day for each activity, that's 4 hours for each category and plenty left for rest. Reality, I've found, does not subdivide so neatly. Any given day is a heap pile of all four. My method of untangling this is and has been to take a deep breath and dive straight into the middle, where I can keep an eye on all of them at once. Being able to multi-task has been a point of pride for me for some time now. Look at the things I can manage to keep functioning all at the same time! Then, at the end of the day hear me whimper once again that I have accomplished nothing and the pile of responsibilities mingled with aspirations is still a jumbled mess.

I have thought about this long. My journals are littered with this plea: "Lord, How do I manage my time?" "How do I own the time that I have and accomplish something with it?" Phil's ears I'm sure are weary from hearing the rollercoaster of inspired ideas followed by whimpers of defeat.
This is what I have learned. This very morning as I search myself once again for the reason that I, filled with so much energy and so much desire to accomplish many things, can end up so empty and so tired. I have become the third servant. In Matthew 25:14-28, Jesus speaks to His disciples a parable about three servants. Each of them are given a specific amount of money to use while their Master is away. The 1st two servants take their money and work deliberately and diligently to build upon their Masters investment. The 3rd servant is, I suppose, afraid of failure and keeps his money where it cannot be wasted. When the Master returns he praises the 1st two servants for their work and rewards them with more than what they had already earned. The 3rd servant is given no reward for keeping his money safe and secure and tight in his own grip. In fact, what he had been holding onto is taken from his hands and given to the 1st servant who had proven himself productive.
I had always assumed that the 3rd servant is an illustration of people who have been given an opportunity to follow Christ with their lives, but refused to do so. I see it now though. I have been the 3rd servant. The time I have been given was never mine to own, to hide, to horde and try to juggle. If I desire to redeem anything from the time I have been given, I must accept it. I must accept time openly, use it while it remains and allow it to flow freely. It cannot be successfully subdivided, however, if I am wise enough I can make the most of it by remembering it is a gift and redeeming it deliberately and diligently. There will be multi-tasking at times, but time is not for multi-tasking.

Psalm 90:12 & 17
Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us- yes, establish the work of our hands.