Sweetly spirited butternut pecan cookies
Today’s recipe is brought to you by NOT the great pumpkin, but the butternut squash. It’s not that I am not tempted to share some great pumpkin idea, but if your inbox is anything like mine you have been completely inundated with pumpkin recipes. Besides that I did not plant sugar pumpkins this year. I like to rotate my crops and the butternut squash did not disappoint.
There is nothing like a fresh picked butternut squash. The biggest difference from store bought? The tender skin! There is no battle slicing through it nor the fear of chopping off a finger. Most of the dozen or so I got from just 1 seed grew quite large, but my final pick was a wee 5-inches.
Chopped, cooked and smashed this little beauty yielded just 1/2 cup of butternut squash puree. It was more than enough for these sweetly spirited butternut pecan cookies.
Yes! It is a spirited cookie. I guess you could say a certain Sailor inspired this one. He has been around a lot lately. The recipe also calls for a few other complimentary flavors like vanilla bean paste, pumpkin pie spice, toasty pecans and demerera sugar. The cookie bakes up soft, but not cake-like, on the inside and slightly crispy on the outside from the sprinkle of sugar.
Here is a tip. If you are roasting or boiling up a butternut squash for dinner set aside 1/4 cupful for these cookies before adding any seasoning. You will be glad you did.
Spirited Butternut Pecan Cookies
- Total Time: 27 minutes
- Yield: 3 dozen 1x
Description
tender tasty and dare I say “healthy”
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt or table salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup mashed butternut squash
1 tablespoon Jack Daniel’s whiskey
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
2 tablespoons demerera or turbinado sugar
36 pecan halves
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In medium bowl, whisk flour, spice, baking soda and salt; set aside. In large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar for 5 minutes or until light and well mixed. Add egg yolk; blend well. Add squash, whiskey and vanilla bean paste; blend well.
- Add flour mixture; stir with a spatula or wooden spoon until well blended.
- Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon drop cookie batter onto prepared baking sheet.
- Press 1 pecan into center of each cookie. Sprinkle each with a pinch of demera sugar.
- Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown around edges.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Category: cookies
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: snack, pecans, butternut squash, Jack Daniel’s, whiskey
Loved your yummy recipe………will try it 🙂
Thanks. I hope you will give it a try.
Ha! Great closing picture!
Isn’t she the cutest. I just spent the weekend with her while Cait and Sam at a wedding. We had so much fun.
These look delicious! And that little Annabelle is so darn cute!
PS: can I substitute vanilla extract for the paste?
Good question and yes to the vanilla extract. Use an equal amount. We are both so blessed to have sweet grandchildren <3