Pumpkin Nut Cookies
Submitted by tazz
Mini pumpkin pie cookie cups with a cream cheese pastry shell, spiced pumpkin filling with rum and vanilla, and a crunchy pecan-brown sugar topping.
YIELD
2 dozenPREP
10 minCOOK
35 minREADY
45 minPart cookie, part mini pumpkin pie, part pecan tart. These little cups start with a buttery cream cheese pastry pressed into miniature muffin tins, then get filled with a spiced pumpkin custard and crowned with a brown sugar-pecan crumble.
The pastry shell bakes for 10 minutes before the filling goes in. This blind bake is crucial. Skip it and the bottoms stay raw and doughy under all that wet filling. Press the dough thin and even up the sides of each cup so nothing slumps during baking.
The filling has a splash of rum along with cinnamon and nutmeg, which adds warmth without making these taste boozy. The real key is not overfilling the cups. Leave room for that pecan topping, which bakes into a crackly, buttery crust on top.
Serve these warm and they taste like individual pumpkin pies with a streusel lid. At room temperature they’re firmer and more cookie-like.
Chef Tips
- Divide the dough into 24 even balls before pressing. If some cups are thicker than others, they’ll bake unevenly.
- Spoon the filling into the warm pre-baked shells, not cooled ones. Warm pastry absorbs less moisture and stays crisper.
- Cool in the pan for the full 10 minutes before loosening. The filling needs to set or they’ll crumble apart.
- These are best the day they’re made. The pastry softens overnight from the wet filling.
Variations
- Swap pecans for walnuts or candied ginger pieces in the topping.
- Replace rum with bourbon or a splash of maple extract for a different autumn flavor.
- Add a tiny dollop of whipped cream on each cup when serving for a dinner party presentation.
Ingredients
Directions
In a medium bowl, beat ½ cup butter and the cream cheese with an electric mixter until well blended.
Stir in flour.
Divide dough into 24 balls, 1inch in diameter.
Press the dough evenly into bottom and up sides of 24, 1¾ inch; muffin pans.
Bake 325℉ (160℃) for 10 minutes.
Combine brown sugar pumpkin, egg yolk, cream or milk, melted butter, rum, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Spoon into warmed prebaked cups.
Stir together nuts, remaining brown sugar and melted butter; sprikle over pumpkin mixture.
Bake 325℉ (160℃) for 25 minutes.
Cool in pans for 10 minutes.
Loosen and remove cups from pans.
Serve warm or cool.
Comments
