I know Melissa states to bake her sugar pumpkins at 400 degrees F. for about 1 1/2 hours but I choose to bake my pumpkins at 350 degrees F. for the same 1 1/2 hours.
I usually bake 6 sugar pumpkins for pumpkin pies, cheesecakes, breads, and these cookies. Each pumpkin weighs around 5 to 6 pounds.
Melissa did not mention on p. 197 for fresh pumpkin puree to: Make sure and strain the fresh pumpkin puree after processing in the food processor or blender. Pumpkins contain a 'lot' of water and need straining for several hours.
The finished pumpkin puree is ready to now be used immediately, refrigerated for several days or measured and put into Ziploc bags for the freezer (to be used when you like; already pre-measured).
Looking out my window, all the maple trees look gorgeous with brilliant oranges, reds, yellows, browns, and (because of several blustery windstorms the last several days) slightly bare branches.
Squirrels, chipmunks and cute little birds of various types are having a hay day in the yard looking for seeds. I love baking and watching out the window on the weekends to see all the activity.
Melissa's cookies were fun to make and I always enjoy using a pastry bag with different tips for interesting designs. 
This cookie dough is not really meant for a tip design because the cookies seem to spread and flatten out slightly when baking. The design flattens out with the cookie too.
I did have trouble with the baked cookie being a little too moist. I ended up spraying wax paper with a little PAM to keep the tops of the cookies from sticking to the waxed paper while piping on the filling (which I colored orange for Halloween spirit).
As you can see, very cute but extremely moist, which is not a bad thing but I have mine in the refrigerator right now to see if the cookie and the filling stiffen up just enough. I need them to stiffen up so I can share them with all my co-workers tomorrow. Hope they love them as much as I do and thank you Dee for choosing this recipe! You can find the recipe for the cookies at Dees' blog here or jump on line and order yourself a copy from Amazon.com. To see all the Sweet Melissa Sunday baking teams variations on the Spiced Pumpkin Cookie Cakes, check this link out and be ready to want to bake your own batch!
I did have trouble with the baked cookie being a little too moist. I ended up spraying wax paper with a little PAM to keep the tops of the cookies from sticking to the waxed paper while piping on the filling (which I colored orange for Halloween spirit).As you can see, very cute but extremely moist, which is not a bad thing but I have mine in the refrigerator right now to see if the cookie and the filling stiffen up just enough. I need them to stiffen up so I can share them with all my co-workers tomorrow. Hope they love them as much as I do and thank you Dee for choosing this recipe! You can find the recipe for the cookies at Dees' blog here or jump on line and order yourself a copy from Amazon.com. To see all the Sweet Melissa Sunday baking teams variations on the Spiced Pumpkin Cookie Cakes, check this link out and be ready to want to bake your own batch!I also baked Chai Spiced Pumpkin Bread (found at Spork and Foon Blog ~ such a fun blog too)
To make the healthy version of this bread, substitute the butter for 1/2 cup applesauce. Also, I found that the healthier version took longer to cook, about 1 hour and 20 minutes.(makes 1 loaf)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter (softened) (***or 1/2 cup applesauce)
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 can of pumpkin puree
2 black tea bags steeped in 1/4 cup hot milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon Chai Spice (optional. The McCormick brand sells this at the supermarket.)
pinch of black pepper
pinch of all spice
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 can of pumpkin puree
2 black tea bags steeped in 1/4 cup hot milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon Chai Spice (optional. The McCormick brand sells this at the supermarket.)
pinch of black pepper
pinch of all spice
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350F. Grease a loaf pan and set aside.
Pre-heat oven to 350F. Grease a loaf pan and set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract. Fold in the pumpkin puree and the milky tea (make sure the tea has completely cooled before adding). Set aside.
In another bowl mix together the all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Add the spices and whisk to incorporate.
Add the flour mixture into the pumpkin mix and gently fold until just combined. Pour the mixture into the loaf pan.
Bake for 55-60 minutes at 350F (for the healthier version, you may need to bake longer, up to 1 hour and 20 minutes. If you don't want the bread to brown any more, tent some aluminum foil over the top.)
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