Baking Article by Destiny J. Constantin

Can you believe it’s time for Thanksgiving? I have been watching my favorite baking competitions on the Food Network including, Holiday Baking Championship, Holiday Wars, and The Big Bake. Dad says I am crowding up the DVR box again. I haven’t had much time to watch television because I have been busy with school and my new job, but I always grab a snack before bedtime and watch my favorite shows before going to sleep. I love taking a recipe and trying to figure out how to put my own twist on it and make it gluten-free, so I can enjoy the sweet treats I make too. I have worked on new cupcakes with fall flavors; Pumpkin Spice Cupcake and Caramel Apple Spice Cupcakes, so I thought I would try to incorporate fall flavors like cinnamon and nutmeg also the taste of Thanksgiving pies into a cookie. 

Before I go into depth with my cookie recipe, I have to reflect on all of the good things that have happened to me this month. Thanksgiving is about sharing your blessings and being thankful for everything you have. Every year at the dinner table, my family and I share what we are thankful for. I am grateful for my family and friends. I can’t thank my family and friends enough for all they have done for me and for helping me celebrate my twenty-seventh birthday. My dream of becoming a teacher became a dream come true at the beginning of this month. I am teaching English at Bryant & Stratton College. There are not enough words to express how much being a teacher means to me and that I never gave up on my dream because of my disability. I don’t mean to be emotional; I just needed to share my blessings and tell my family and friends how much I love them. 

This week, I want to share my newest creation, Pecan Pie Cookies. A soft-baked spice cookie with pecans, salted caramel, and chocolate chips frosted with cream cheese icing. Warm fall spices mixed with pecan pie ingredients built into a cookie that is soft in the middle and a little crunchy on the outer edges. They are moist and sweet and taste just like a slice of pecan pie, so if you love pie, caramel, and pecans, you will love this cookie recipe because it’s a mixture of sweet and salty.

The following recipe makes two dozen cookies but can be adjusted to make one dozen cookies by dividing the ingredients in half.

Gluten-Free Pecan Pie Cookies

Ingredients:

• 3 cups Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free 1 to 1 baking flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1  teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cup of cane sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 sticks of salted butter, softened
• ½ cup of light brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1 cup of sea salted caramel chips
• 1 cup of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 cups of chopped pecans
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste
• 1/4 cup of heavy cream

Fall Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese softened to room temperature
• 1 cup of salted butter
• 3 cups of powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
• ½ cup of heavy whipping cream

Cookie Directions:

1. Gather all your ingredients.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, blend the cane sugar and light brown sugar, and butter until light and fluffy, about two minutes.
4. Add the eggs, vanilla, and mix to incorporate fully. (Baking tip: Crack eggs into a liquid measure cup to prevent egg shells from getting into your cookie dough mixture.)
5. Add the heavy cream, and mix to incorporate fully.
6. With the mixture on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture in 2 batches, beating until combined, stopping to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Do not over-beat.
7. Let cookie mix rest for a couple of minutes while you chopped the pecans (Baking tips: Pour the pecans into a zip-lock bag and use a meat tenderizer to break up the nuts into smaller pieces.)
8. Once the batter is blended and fluffy, fold in the nuts and caramel and chocolate chips using a baking spatula.
9. Mix batter until it is smooth and blended well.
10. Line three cookie sheets with parchment paper or a baking mat.
11. Let cookie dough rest in the refridgerator for an hour, before rolling out the dough.
12. Shape and form the cookies with fall cookie cutters.
13. Bake cookies for 11 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Time may vary depending on the type of oven you have and the size of the cookies.
14. While the cookies are in the oven, prepare a cup of coffee, tea, or milk.
15. Let cookies cool before eating or decorating them because they will be very soft still, but the cookies will firm up as they are cooling.

Instructions For Making The Frosting

1. In a medium-size bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until smooth.
2. Beat in the powdered sugar a little at a time until incorporated. Pour in the heavy whipping cream while adding in the sugar.
3. Add the vanilla extract and the ground cinnamon; beat until fluffy.
4. Cover the frosting with plastic wrap and set it in the refrigerator.

Assembling the Cookies and Decorations

1. Once the cookies are cool, gather your decorating supplies and prepare to frost your cookies.
2. You may use a knife to place frosting on the cookie or a pastry bag. I always use a pastry bag to make my sweet treats look pretty. Place an open star tip at the bottom of the piping bag before filling it with frosting. Cut the bottom of the bag, enough for the tip to come through, and begin swirling the cookie with frosting.
3. I colored half the cream cheese frosting orange to make a colorful swirl on the pumpkin shaped cookies and a leaf piping tip and green color frosting for the leaf shaped cookies. You may decorate any way you wish too.
4. Add sprinkles or edible glitter to finish off your fall decorated cookies.

Enjoy your sweet treat. I hope you have fun in the kitchen making this fall flavor cookie. I hope everyone has a blessed Thanksgiving surrounded by their loved ones. God Bless!

Featured image by Jill Wellington courtesy of Pixabay