Sean and I have this ongoing thing where he claims to dislike a food and I step up to crush him.
I make him eat his words.
Quite literally.
Then I laugh maniacally and he rolls his eyes.
It’s part of our thing.
See, not only do I feel an overwhelming sense of victory when I prove his begrudging tastebuds wrong…
We end up liking the same foods.
It’s a total win-win kinda deal.
Anyway, for years now Sean has been hating on pumpkin. I mean, I get his dislike of pumpkin pie (gasp! I know…) I don’t love it either. But, to write off all pumpkin goodness because of a dislike of a single dish, not even okay. There’s pumpkin bread, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin muffins, and cookies!
Oh, my.
So, to bust his hatin’, I decided to make it a point to help him overcome his discriminatory ways.
I saw this recipe on Martha Stewart’s website and knew that if anything would win him over, this would.
Browned butter…hello!
I added some malt to the mix for good measure.
Never can be too safe with those haters…
…and, it paid off!
He took one bite, and for once, kept his eye rolls to himself.
I’m the winner.
Oh, sweet victory!
Huzzah!
- 11 ounces all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons malt powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 3 ounces softened, unsalted butter
- 9 ounces brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons fresh, grated ginger
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 6 ounces pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
- 3 ounces milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- for the frosting:
- 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 1 tablespoon malt powder
- pinch of salt
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Preheat oven to 375F and line 3 baking sheets with parchment or silicone liners.
- In a medium bowl whisk together flour, malt powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, dry ginger, and nutmeg. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer cream together butter, sugar, and fresh ginger. Add pumpkin puree and combine. Add egg and mix to combine, scraping the bowl as needed. Add milk and vanilla, mix well. Pour all of the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and mix in short bursts until just combined. If there are some streaks of flour, fold lightly with a rubber spatula.
- Prepare a piping bag fitted with a large, round tip and spoon half of the batter into the bag. Pipe rounds of dough onto the prepped sheet pans and repeat. Bake cookies in the center of the oven for 10-12 minutes. The cookies are done when the bottoms are lightly browned and the tops spring back to the touch. Cool for a few minutes on the sheet and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely before frosting.
- In a large bowl whisk together sugar, malt powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a small bowl whisk together milk and vanilla.
- In a shallow skillet heat butter over medium low until butter solids become golden brown and smell like toffee. Do not walk away as you do this, the butter can go from perfect to burnt in moments. Once browned add to confectioner’s sugar mixture and whisk well, whisk in milk and vanilla. If the frosting is still stiff add small amounts of milk to achieve desired consistency. Can be used as soon as cookies are cooled.
I halved the recipe, so I used ounce measurements instead of my usual cup measurments.
Wow, craving these right this very moment- yum!!
Lori, nice!
Good morning!
Mmm, I love pumpkin…in just about everything! Now what does the malt do? I don’t have any but have all the rest of the ingredients. Will it change the flavor/texture if I don’t put it in?
Is there anyway to get a thumbprint photo with your recipes? Pictures always help me remember what it supposed to look like! Besides, you take great photos!
Have a great day!
Robbie, the malt is just another layer of flavor and can definitely be left out. As for the thumbnail, you can snag one off of my flickr page, just view all sizes 🙂
yeah, sean didn’t stand a chance against hating these.
yum!
Katie, he sure did not!
These look so good! That browned butter frosting sounds amazing. I’m jealous of your ability to get your man to try new foods. I’ve been dating my boyfriend for 2.5 years, and he still refuses to try hummus or guacamole. So frustrating! He would scarf these cookies down in a heartbeat though.
Maggie, the browned butter frosting is worth the effort all on its own! It is SO good! My technique (ha!) for getting the boy to try new stuff is to just heckle him incessantly until I break down his will…works like a charm 😉
These look like pumpkin pillows of heaven. I’m glad Sean’s coming around to the whole pumpkin thing! I can’t imagine life without it! Or fall, for that matter.
Megan, fur realz girl! Fall without pumpkin is like Harry without Ron & Hermione!
The best kind of victory! You may be creating a monster, though. If it were me, I’d roll my eyes about everything if this is the result 🙂
Nicole, Yeah! I think he already is a monster, since we’ve been together he has become way more critical of the food he eats!
Truer words were never spoken.
Wow these look absolutely amazing. I am a pumpkin lover personally but I can see how these could turn even a pumpkin hater around!
Katherine, thanks! I definitely think these changed his pumpkin hating ways.
I can’t stop craving pumpkin and this might be my favorite recipe yet (btw the malted idea was genius)!
Melissa, it’s just the season for pumpkin, right?! The malt totally works here, thanks!
My mouth is seriously watering… yum!
nice! thanks for visiting Sarah!
These look delish! Tell me, about what size did you make them? They look about 2″ in diameter. Could I make them larger?
Tracy, thanks! The cookies are about 2inches in diameter, but you could make them any size I think.
these look insane! i am so ready for pumpkin season!
Pumpkin season is the best of all the seasons!
oh these look amazing. you had me at “pumpkin” and then i died at “brown butter.” and what a success to change a skeptic with one bite! kudos.
Thanks Tamara!
I have never thought of using malt and pumpkin together, sounds wonderful!
Anne, thanks! The malt powder was just hanging out next to the pumpkin in my pantry, so I gave it a go…it totally works!
Hehe. How sweet is victory? Pretty sweet if I don’t say so myself! I play this game with my husband all the time. These cookies really do look like winners. Absolutely gorgeous photography too Cindy. One of the best series of food photos I’ve seen in awhile.
Terris, victory is sweet, right?! and thanks 😀
Beautiful cookies! Love the browned butter frosting. And how creative to add malt to the pumpkin! Wonderful touch to convert him!!
Thanks Stefanie! Browned butter is the best!
These cookies look soo good. I was just talking to a friend last night how I wanted to make pumpkin cookies. I am so glad I found your blog and this scrumptious recipe. And your shots are gorgeous!
Thanks Russell! I recently found your site as well…lovely!
Is malt powder the same as malted milk powder? Where can I get it? What brand should I be looking for? I’ve never heard of this ingredient before and would appreciate any info in gathering it as I would love to try out this recipe! Thanks so much 🙂
Go PUMPKINS!
Elisa, yes I was referring to malted milk powder. I use Carnation brand. I hope that helps! 🙂
If I leave out the malt powder, do I need to add more flour for consistency or can I just leave out the ingredient altogether? Thank you for the recipe!
Jana, I’d just leave it out all together…the original recipe has the same ratios sans the malt powder 🙂
Will this icing harden a bit….so it won’t mess up when storing? Or should only be frosted when eating?
Hi Laura, the icing will not harden unless refrigerated after icing. Otherwise, yes, I would suggest icing right before serving. Great question!
How long would you say these keep for? And does the frosting need to be refigerated or did you store them at room temperature? Martha never seems to provide this information!! Oh, and how much does the malt change the flavor of the cookies? I like malt, I’m just having a hard time imagining how it will turn out 🙂
Hi Jen,
These kept well for about 3 days in an airtight container. I didn’t have any need to refrigerate the frosting, though I imagine the cookies would keep even longer if refrigerated. The malt powder just adds a subtle flavor and can be left out if you’d like. I think it worked really well with the pumpkin though. Hope this helps! Cheers!