How many of you enjoy the autumn season-look forward to it even? If you live in a hot climate, you may be a bit like me- yearning for a reprieve from the heat. I suppose I can only speak for myself, but when the first cool day arrives- and promises the faintest hope of autumn- I almost “wish the new season in” by stocking the pantry with all my favorite fall flavors.
Visions of pumpkin spice, autumn apples, and spicy cinnamon begin to dance around in my mind. Ahh, autumn… what a lovely time of the year- what a splendid time to bake and dream!
As I “wished autumn in” last week (with my post on chocolate pudding and pumpkin whipped cream), I could not help but dream of another favorite fall recipe. This recipe is not English- inspired per say, but instead it dates back to my teaching days. In fact, if you were one of my students, you may recall a cooking lab favorite…soft pumpkin cookies.
With last week’s pumpkin whipped cream as our inspiration, the children and I decided to share our version, of this tried-and-true autumn recipe, with you all.
Unsurprisingly, I will also be sharing a wooden candle transformation (a thrift purchase of course). I will show how we use the candles and a few other vintage items to decorate our home for autumn. Come join us as we welcome the new season into our living spaces.
~Crisp Cookie? Soft Cookie? ~
In my opinion, there are two types of cookie fanatics in this world. The type of person who enjoys their cookies crisp… or the type of person who enjoys their cookies soft. Generally, I fall into the camp of soft cookies. What about you? Are you team soft cookie or team crispy cookie? Maybe you even have one foot in both camps. (And that is okay too!)
If you are team soft cookies then this recipe is most certainly for you. These pumpkin cookies are pillowy soft with the perfect combination of spice and sweetness. If desserts were familial, I would probably describe my pumpkin cookies as the “first cousin” of cake. However they fit in the family, these pumpkin cookies are sure to be a simple crowd pleaser.
Picture this: You open the front door of your home. A familiar scent of pumpkin pie and cinnamon rushes to fill your nostrils- and all at once you are overcome with a fond, nostalgic feeling. A sensation so cozy and wonderful that it feels almost as if the air itself is giving you a warm embrace. You rub your ears, and suspiciously look around, as you mistakenly think you hear someone whisper, “Welcome Home!”
~My Pumpkin Cookie Treat~
These fluffy cookies are indeed light and soft. In my opinion they are the perfect autumn cookie recipe. I have adapted this recipe by adding more pumpkin, more spice, and more vanilla…all my seasonal favorites. However, if you desire a less pumpkin-y, slightly firmer cookie- you can add less pumpkin. (But, in my opinion the pumpkin is what keeps the cookies so moist.) Plus, the extra pumpkin surely adds a good dose of vitamin A and vitamin C… right?!
The truthful reality is, I hate to waste part of the pumpkin puree so I dump the whole can in. If you decided to use less pumpkin, you can (see what I did there) always freeze the remainder for a recipe down the road.
~How the Cookies are Made~
~Cookies Served on Vintage Dishes~
~A Practical Recipe Tip~
Every home cook or baker knows how messy a favorite cookbook or recipe can become over time. As you work, a bit of butter falls here, a splash of milk spills there, an overflow of vanilla dribbles down, a pat of pumpkin-PLOP and before you know it, these little disorders can quickly turn into a rather big mess!
With this in mind, I thought I would share my simple recipe tip: Place your handwritten recipe inside of a plastic sheet protector. This way, every splash can be wiped away without damaging the recipe underneath. You can simply slide the recipe in the sheet protector while baking. Later, you can remove the recipe from the plastic protector and put it back in your recipe box for storage. You do not need to buy loads of the plastic sheet protectors- as one protector can be used over and over again. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!
My days as a home economics teacher taught me this trick. Each year I taught, I was blessed to teach around 200 students. Eventually, I became weary of the constant need to re-copy my sticky recipes-which in turn, is what led me to the sheet protector solution.
By placing the recipes in sheet protectors, I could leave the protected recipes in the kitchens, where they fared much better. While I do understand that most of us are not in a high school home economics kitchen, but a helpful tip is generally useful for a myriad of situations. Hopefully, this little tip will prove beneficial for you as well.
~Thrifted Candle Pair~
A trip to the thrift store, a few months back, proved fruitful as I discovered this twin pair of wooden candlesticks. They were quite dirty, and the candles in them were very dingy, but as ever… I put on my rose tinted glasses and saw a beauty that could be uncovered. I actually thought the little lace and flowers tied to each stem was charming. However, the ribbon was quite grubby, so I decided to remove it all and start afresh.
I did my usual trick of stripping, and sanding. Then I added a wood wax and jazzed up the candlesticks with some new (old) ribbon and some of my previously dried flowers. When I am refinishing something, I do like to keep an element of the original design- if and where I can. Afterall, I do not want to strip away all the charm that drew me to the “ugly duckling” in the first place.
All that was left to do was to give the glass candle tops a soapy bath and add a fresh, new candle to the glass top. Just like that, the wooden candlesticks had a new lease on life.
~Before: A Bit of Blah~
As you can see, the original finish was quite dark, the candles were quite dirty, and the ribbons and artificial flowers were hot glued onto the center wooden, pillar. Despite the finishes not being to my complete liking, there was something agreeable about the look. Therefore, I did my best to preserve these original features without too much alteration. Sometimes, less is truly more!
~After: A Bit of Ahh~
For this project, I decided to use a variety of ribbons. The vintage lace (you have seen before in my previous posts). I adore the creamy color and the dainty texture. This lace is an example of a one-dollar thrift find being worth its weight in gold- as I have used it so many times! I also added a thin twine to the mix- in an effort to create a more rustic feel.
After choosing my ribbons, I roughly cut each ribbon piece to the same length. Then I tied the ribbons/twine (all together), around the center of the candlestick. Using scissors, I carefully “pulled” the ribbons along the outside of the scissors to give the ribbons a little “curl.” A few simple alterations can make the world of difference.
~Until Next Time~
As we near the end of yet another post, I wanted to close with these meager thoughts: I hope my pumpkin cookie recipe has encouraged you to get into the kitchen to try a new seasonal treat. Equally, I hope my candlestick pair has inspired you to seek out a creative project to try.
Creating a product, whether in the kitchen, or in the craft room, gives a real sense of accomplishment and joy. Kitchens are chock full of chances to create wonderful meals and delicious treats. Thrift stores are full of opportunities to be creative and think outside of the box. So here is to a new week of creativity and fun!
On another note, I will be sharing a post on how I created an autumn-themed tablescape (using my pumpkin cookies from this week), my thrifted candle pair, as well as some other free items I found to share with you all. So be sure to tune in for that update.
For a bit of fun and intrigue, I will leave you all with a little hint: the photograph above- and the photograph below- are a foretaste of Tuesday’s post.
Ta ta for now…I hope to see you all Tuesday.
~Elizabeth~
