I'm debating on the fall flavors for my cookie this week, and pumpkin has been on my mind. However, I wanted more than just pumpkin in my cookies. Looking for a creative way to incorporate hazelnut, pumpkin, and orange into my cookies.
Hazelnuts are a good nut but can be hard to work with if all I can find are whole hazelnuts with the skins on. But I was lucky and found some at the grocery store that had most of the skins off, and they were already chopped.
I also like to throw in a handful of raisins just for the heck of it. They give my cookies a little sweetness and make them a little chewier.
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The Scoop on Hazelnuts
I decided to do a little research on hazelnuts and pumpkins. Hazelnuts have some fantastic health benefits. I had no idea they were this good for me, or I would have been baking with them more. Pumpkins are even better in health benefits. So this should make you feel better about cookies with pumpkin and hazelnuts.
I do not use hazelnuts more in my recipes because they are not the easiest nut to work with. But I am here to tell you I found a new love for the hazelnut.
I had to shop at the local Giant Food Store here in Lancaster, and low and behold, I was standing in front of the nuts hanging on the wall, and I saw two bags of Fisher Chopped Hazelnuts, and they are already in 1-cup bags. They only had the two bags left so I grabbed them and ran before someone else saw them.
So try going to your local grocery store and have them order them so you do not have to pay shipping charges. But if you have Amazon Prime, you will save on shipping charges which would be your best bet if you are ordering more than a few. Fisher Hazelnuts Chopped Unsalted Culinary One-Cup
This beats trying to get the skins off these nuts any day. I would get a couple of bags. The holiday cookies seem to have more hazelnuts added than any other time of the year.
Ingredients
- Cream Cheese
- Butter unsalted
- Light brown sugar
- Sugar white
- Pumpkin puree
- Egg
- Orange zest
- Vanilla Extract
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Ground cinnamon
- Raisins
- Hazelnuts chopped
- Powdered sugar
How to Make Pumpkin Orange Cookies
Prep work
The first thing I do is weigh both sugars into a bowl. Don't forget to hit the tare button before adding the second sugar to the bowl. Next, I weigh the flour in another bowl and add the baking powder and cinnamon on top of the flour. To blend them, I use a whisk.
The next step is to get the orange zest for the recipe. I only go over the same spot at the most twice, so you do not zest down to the white layer. This white layer can be bitter. It took one orange to get the amount I needed for one tablespoon.
Mixing the Cookie Dough
Add the cream cheese and the butter to a mixer bowl and turn the mixer to medium speed for a minute or two. The time depends on how cold your butter is and how long it takes to cream the butter and cream cheese together.
Add the white and brown sugar to the creamed butter and cream cheese and mix on medium mixer speed for 2 to 3 minutes.
Next, add the egg and incorporate it into the cookie dough. Now you want to add the orange zest, vanilla extract, pumpkin puree and blend.
The cookie dough turns to a nice orange color. Scrape down the bowl and add the hazelnuts and raisins. You only need to turn the mixer on for 15 seconds or less to mix them through.
I take a one-piece spatula I just got from Williams-Sonoma (I love the blue color) and make sure that everything looks evenly distributed throughout the cookie dough. Cover lightly and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Scooping and Baking the Cookies
Preheat the oven to 350° and line 2 cookie sheet pans with parchment paper, setting them aside.
Add twelve mounds to one of the prepared pans using a medium cookie scooper. I wet two fingers and press down lightly so they do not roll around. These cookies do not spread much, but I still leave a couple of inches between the cookie mounds.
Bake for 11-13 minutes and move them to a cooling rack once out of the oven. These cookies have few spices, so it is about the pumpkin taste. They are fall baking for the love of fall flavors.
Enjoy!
FAQ's
Nutmeg and cloves are a good choice to add to your cookie dough if you want a pumpkin pie taste. These spices complement the pumpkin and orange flavors, creating a warm and comforting taste.
Of course, I love pecans and pumpkin together, but walnuts also work with the pumpkin and orange flavors.
The pumpkin puree makes these moist cookies, so I put them in a storage container with parchment paper between the layers. I just lay the lid on top and do not seal it tight. I leave some air to circulate in the container.
Try Other Pumpkin Cookies
Recipe
Hazelnut Pumpkin Orange Cookies
Barbara HallIngredients
- 3 oz (3 oz) Cream Cheese room temperature
- ½ cup (113.5 g) Butter unsalted room temperature
- ½ cup (110 g) Light brown sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) Sugar white
- 1 cup (245 g) Pumpkin puree
- 1 (1) Egg
- 1 tablespoon (1 tablespoon) Orange zest
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Vanilla Extract
- 2 ½ cups (312.5 g) All-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Ground cinnamon
- 1 cup (145 g) Raisins
- 1 cup (120 g) Hazelnuts chopped
- ½ cup (60 g) Powdered sugar Sprinkle on top
Instructions
- Zest one orange and set aside. Weigh or measure the white and light brown sugars into a bowl and set them aside. In another bowl, weigh or measure the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon, running a whisk through to blend.
- Blend the cream cheese and butter for about 2 minutes on medium speed in a stand or handheld mixer. Add both sugars and mix for another couple of minutes. Next, add the egg and mix it through the sugar-butter mixture. Add the orange zest, vanilla extract, pumpkin puree, and incorporate.
- Gradually add the flour mixture and blend until the flour is incorporated. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl and across the bottom. Add the chopped hazelnuts plus the raisins and blend through for about 15 seconds or until it looks mixed into the dough. Cover loosely and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350° while the dough is in the refrigerator—line cookie pans with parchment paper. Taking a medium cookie scoop, place twelve scoops on the pan and bake for 11-13 minutes. After removing the cookies from the oven, move to a cooling rack. After completely cooling, I dust powdered sugar on top of the cookies.
NUTRITION DISCLAIMER
I am not a certified Dietitian or Nutritionist. The nutrition amounts given below are provided through a program and are only a guideline.
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