pumpkin planets

Once upon a time I attended chef school and worked in a lovely bakery. We made these treats for Halloween.

Pumpkin Planets

2 3/4 c. all purpose flour

2 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

2 t. cinnamon

1 t. freshly grated nutmeg

1 t. ground ginger

1/2 t. ground cloves

1/4 t. salt

1 1/4 c. raisins

2 c. walnut pieces

2 sticks less 2 T. unsalted butter, room temperature

1 c. firmly packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 c. unseasoned canned pumpkin (not preseasoned pie filling)

Glaze

6 T unsalted butter, melted and kept hot

1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
  
• Sift together the flour, baking powder and soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and salt into a mixing bowl. Set aside. Combine the raisins and walnuts and set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter and sugar. Using a hand held mixer set on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until fluffy and light, about 5 minutes. Continuing on medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Don't worry if the mixture looks curdled. Beat in the pumpkin and mix just until combined. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture, one third at a time, alternating with the raisin/walnut mixture, which should be added one half at a time. Beat well after each addition until thoroughly incorporated. The batter should be quite thick.
• Line baking sheets with parchment paper and grease them with butter. Drop mounds of batter onto the prepared sheets. They should be spaced about 1 1/2" apart.
• Bake the cookies in the top third of the oven until lightly browned on the bottom and the tops spring when touched, approx. 15-18 minutes.
• To make the glaze, place the hot melted butter in a bowl and gradually whisk in the sugar to form a smooth, flowing glaze that isn't too thin. It should have the consistency of chocolate syrup. If yours is too thick, whisk in a little milk or water.
• Using a spoon, drizzle over the tops of the cookies.