Pumpkin Butter Thumbprint Cookies! The ultimate fall cookies, these sweet treats are rolled in crunchy toasted pecans and filled with a delicious spiced store-bought pumpkin butter. A great cookie to make for fall holidays!
My First Visit To Trader Joe's
You guys. My life has been changed forever.
They {finally} built a Trader Joe's within a decent distance of where I live. It opened 2 days before my birthday. I'm fairly certain they planned that out that as a gift to me. Thank you to all those who came together to make it happen.
As the sun rose last Sunday and I opened my eyes on the first day of my 33rd year on this planet, my sweet husband wished me a happy birthday. I cleared my throat and responded, "Can we get to Trader Joe's before it get's packed?" Signs you're getting old.
Because Steve is so good to me and wouldn't dream of shattering my birthday plans, we were up, dressed and wandering the aisles of TJ's by 8:15 a.m. It was magical.
I may be over-exaggerating a tiny bit. {But not by much.} I mean, it's a grocery store, not one of the wonders of the world. {Though I warn you, do not argue this point with anyone who is a huge fan. You will lose.} However, I can tell you that as we stood there with our mouths agape staring at a wall of reasonably priced, {organic!!!} packaged greens of every possible combination you can think of, we knew we had stumbled onto something special. I even heard Steve mumble, "Is this for real?"
It is real, my dear, and it is glorious.
Now, navigating TJ's as a "first-timer" can be a tricky feat. Because you'll want to buy all the things. I'm talking stuff you have no need for and hardly ever eat. "But it's only $1.99!", you'll rationalize.
PUT DOWN THE CHILI-LIME ROASTED ALMONDS AND WALK AWAY. No, do not stop to look at the multitude of nut butters {or cookie butter, for that matter. There is no nutritional value in cookie butter even if it's housed right next to the chia and flax peanut butter.} that are suddenly available to you. You came for almond butter... now, put the almond butter in your basket and back away slowly.
Ok, so I may not have left completely unscathed. It was my first visit, and my birthday for heaven's sake, cut me some slack. I splurged on a small jar of pumpkin butter because it was there and fall was officially beginning that week. So, clearly it was a necessity.
Then, as penance, I came home and decided to use the pumpkin butter in a recipe for fall cookies to share with you. Because I'm considerate that way and because otherwise I may have simply eaten it by the spoonful.
What is Pumpkin Butter?
Pumpkin Butter, incidentally, has very little to do with butter, except that it's rich and creamy like its namesake. It's actually a sweet, jam-like spread infused with pumpkin spice-type flavors. Like apple butter, except pumpkin-y!
What are other uses for pumpkin butter, you might ask? You can spread on muffins, pancakes, waffles, drizzle over ice cream or oatmeal, or use as a pastry filling. I even used it in a savory application in these Pumpkin Butter Turkey & Cheese Sliders!
Pumpkin Butter Thumbprint Cookies
Is there anything that brings greater feelings of nostalgia than a thumbprint cookie? The flavors in these sweet treats make them the ultimate fall cookies!
For the cookie portion of these, I used a cream cheese-based dough that I adapted from Allie's recipe {Baking a Moment} to make them a bit sturdier, and rolled them in toasted pecan bits for some crunch. Then, I filled the centers with Trader Joe's Pumpkin Butter. You will not be sorry that you sacrificed some of your beloved Pumpkin Butter for these babies.
The way you make the imprint in your thumbprint cookie is up to you. You can use your thumb if you'd really like to, but I prefer using the back of a teaspoon measuring spoon to make a perfectly round little well in the center of each cookie. You can keep it from sticking by dipping it in a bit of flour before you create each well, or by spraying the rounded part of the teaspoon with a little cooking spray every few times you make an indentation.
Tips for Making Thumbprint Cookies
Thumbprint cookies are generally an easy cookie to make, but there are a few tips that you should follow to achieve thumbprint success:
- Try to get the dough balls as even in size as possible to ensure that they all bake at the same rate. You can use a cookie scoop to get approximately the same size dough each time, or for more precise measuring, you can use a kitchen scale.
- The cream cheese-based dough is soft when it's first made, so chilling for about an hour will help the cookies to hold their shape as they bake.
- The cookies will remain soft when they're warm, so let them cool for at least 10 minutes if not longer before moving them to a cooling rack or lifting them.
Note: I also made a version of these without nuts and they were very tasty, too! They do spread a little further, so take that into account when placing onto the baking pan.
Pumpkin Butter Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons butter softened
- 3 ounces cream cheese softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 tablespoon water
- ⅓ cup pecan bits
- ⅓ cup pumpkin butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° degrees. Prepare a baking pan by lining with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together butter, cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract and salt until smooth.
- Slowly add in the flour and mix until just incorporated. If the dough is too soft to handle, refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour or until it is easier to handle.
- Beat egg and water in a small bowl. In another bowl, place pecan bits for rolling. Set aside.
- Scoop about a tablespoonful of dough and roll it into a ball. Dredge each ball in the egg wash; drop into the pecans and roll around to coat.
- Place onto the prepared pan. Continue until all the dough is used up.
- Using a teaspoon measure or your thumb, push down on the top of each dough ball to create an indentation.
- Fill each well with a heaping ½ teaspoon of Pumpkin Butter until just filled.
- Bake for about 12-14 minutes or until the edges and bottoms are just starting to brown and the cookies are set.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before moving the cookies to a cooling rack as they will be soft and more difficult to move when warm.
bmayer says
Their ginger snaps are more "chewy" than "snappy", but oh so delicious. I love their dark chocolate covered almonds, and I bought the Organic Tomato Roasted Red Pepper Soup but I havent tried it yet. I also bought the Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar, just because, how often do you see Orange Muscat Champagne vinegar?.....but I have no idea what to do with it. Got any ideas?
Alyson says
YUM! These look delicious, and I pretty much love everything inside the store. It's kind of a problem. Maybe we should lunch date there sometime? 🙂 #dangerous
alyson
http://www.theaveragegirlsguide.com
Meagan Brockway says
Peanut butter cups! You must get the peanut butter cups!
Karis says
So happy to hear you finally got a Trader Joe's near you! When we lived in Wisconsin we shopped weekly at TJ's and I had a long list of staples I purchased from there. After moving to South Florida, I went into withdrawal. One year later a TJ's is opening about 30 minutes from my apartment and I will be there on October 10th when they open!
Chineka @ Savor The Baking says
I've heard about the different "butters" at Trader Joe's, but have yet to try them. This seems like a good way to try one of their butters and incorporate it into a recipe for the Fall.