These Khorasan Pumpkin Cookies are Soft and sweet. The essence of a fall treat. Perfect for any Halloween party!
Pumpkin cookies have been a fall family classic for years. Their slightly caky texture and chunks of chocolate, with a thin layer of frosting, bring back many fond autumn memories. Their unique texture makes them a great candidate for experimenting with different grains and this year we are enjoying them made with Khorasan!
We went the extra mile and gave these Khorasan Pumpkin Cookies a little extra pizazz by adding a browned butter cinnamon frosting. That and the use of Khorasan flour make these more than just ordinary pumpkin cookies.
They are a super easy treat to whip up for any fall gathering and everyone will be so glad you did once they get a taste. We Hope you enjoy these as much as we do!
Ingredients For Khorasan Pumpkin Cookies
Butter – Salted
Eggs – Crucial to get that light texture that you want for pumpkin cookies.
Sugar – We use coconut sugar, but you can also use brown sugar. White sugar will produce a drastically different flavor.
Vanilla – Mexican vanilla is always our favorite, but whatever you have will work just fine
Pumpkin – We use canned pumpkin, but if you want to cook down fresh pumpkin that could work too!
Khorasan Flour – Home-milled Khorasan Berries will feel sandier than most other grains when it is first milled. Just get it as fine as you can. It will dissolve in the liquid.
Salt – Never ever forget the salt
Spices – Cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and ginger back quite a punch in this recipe
Baking Powder – Helps with the rise
Water
Chocolate Chips – These are optional. We like to use dark chocolate
How to Make Khorasan Pumpkin Cookies
We will start with the classic base for cookies by creaming together the butter, sugar, and eggs. Put those first three ingredients in a mixing bowl. Using either a stand mixer or a hand mixer, beat those ingredients until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture has become smooth and creamy. Next, add the rest of the wet ingredients and mix well.
Now for the dry ingredients. We mill our Khorasan flour in our Mockmill 200 and we love it! Because the texture of Khorasan flour is so different from most other grains, we pour the whole grains into the mill one cup at a time to make sure that it doesn’t get clogged.
After milling, you can add the flour, salt, baking powder, and spices to the mixing bowl and combine. You may have to pause and scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula to make sure that there are no clumps of flour hiding.
Last of all, we add our chocolate chips! We like dark chocolate, but you can use whatever you prefer. After mixing those in, we let the dough rest for about 10 minutes. This allows the Khorasan flour to fully absorb the liquids. After the dough rests, give it one last mix. This dough is much looser than most cookie dough. It will look more like a stiff batter.
Now you’re ready to start scooping the cookies onto a baking sheet. Place a sheet of baking paper down on your pan before you start scooping cookies. These cookies spread a little in the oven so make sure you give them enough space so that you won’t end up with one big cookie in the end. We can usually fit four rows of three on our baking sheets.
Bake the Cookies for fourteen minutes at 350 degrees. Let them cool for five minutes on the pan when they come out and move to a wire rack to finish cooling.
While your cookies bake you’ll have plenty of time to whip up the frosting! Start by browning your butter in a saucepan. Once your butter is melted keep a close on it while it browns. It is very easy to let it burn. Once your butter is golden brown, remove it from the heat and add it to the bowl along with your powdered sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and milk. Give it a good stir.
Let the cookies cool complexly before you try to frost them. Even the slightest amount of heat will make your frosting melt all over the place. After the cookies have cooled, spread a thin layer of frosting on each cookie. And they are ready to serve!
FAQ
Can I leave out the chocolate chips?
Yes! If you are one of those crazy people or if you want to cut down on the sugar, you can leave out the chocolate chips or replace them with nuts!
Could I use a squash other than pumpkin?
You could definitely get away with using another kind of squash instead. Keep in mind that some other squashes are a little higher in water so you will probably want to cut down on the water you add into the dough. Sweet potato could also be a great replacement.
Why use Khorasan to make Pumpkin Cookies?
In recent years, Khorasan has become a very popular grain. It is used to create all kinds of foods, from cereals to pasta. As an ancient grain, Khorasan has a simpler genetic makeup than modern wheat and is therefore much easier for our bodies to digest.
Khorasan also brings the benefit of increased nutritional value that includes higher amounts of protein and essential vitamins, minerals and fatty acids that boost various organs and processes in the body. All of this makes Khorasan an excellent grain to work into your diet.
If you’re looking for a good place to get some Khorasan for your kitchen, look no further than ancientgrains.com. Organic Khorasan Berries are available for purchase at our online store.
Khorasan Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Butter Frosting
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- ½ Tbsp vanilla
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 â…“ cups Khorasan Berries - Finely ground
- â…” tsp salt
- 1 ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- ¼ tsp clove
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup chocolate chips
Icing
- ¼ cup butter browned
- 130 g powdered sugar aproxamatly 1 cup
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp Vanilla
- 1 Tbsp Milk
Instructions
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Cream butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla
- Add pumpkin and mix well
- Add all dry ingredients and mix thoroughly
- Add water and combine
- Add chocolate chips if desired and mix for the last time
- Let the dough rest for 10 minutes, by the end, the dough should be like a stiff batter
- Using a spoon or cookie scooper, scoop two-tablespoon-sized balls onto a parchment-covered cookie sheet
- Bake for 14 minutes
- Allow to cool fully before frosting
Frosting instructions
- Place butter in a saucepan and melt on medium low until butter has become very fragrant and a deep golden brown watching consistently to ensure that it does not burn.
- Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients whisking thoroughly
- Spread a thin layer on each cookie and enjoy!
