Pumpkin Butter Thumbprint Cookies

November 18, 2014 By Dan from Platter Talk 13 Comments

We are closing in on on Thanksgiving and still going strong with some new and tasty recipes for all tastes and all occasions. If you’re a regular follower of Platter Talk you may recall we have put together quite a few recipes using apple butter over the past few weeks, in fact we even made our own. A few readers brought up the use of pumpkin butter for some of our recipes, something we had never used, until this past weekend.

Although Thanksgiving is still over a week away, winter showed up here in Wisconsin and made things crystal clear that it meant business. Ice crystal clear, in fact.

I was hibernating at our small lake cottage with three of the boys for the weekend where the weather outside was less than hospitable with temperatures dipping into the teens and the season’s first layers of ice forming on the lake outside our windows. Inside, fortunately, was a different story. A cozy burning fire in the pellet stove kept the place nice and toasty and helped created an ideal environment for hunkering down to watch movies. And eat.

Venturing out for a brief day trip, we stopped at a small Amish pantry store where the boys and I took an odyssey through the three or four small aisles within. Bags of succulent candies, flours, whole grains, preserves and so much more captivated the attention of all of us, even the youngest in tow. By the time we left the store we carried with us a sample of just about everything it seemed, including a jar of pumpkin butter.

We’ve featured plenty of pumpkin recipes in the past and this is our first with pumpkin butter. Easy to make, rustic enough for our small cottage yet completely suitable for an elegant party or dinner, these little beauties combine the savory comfort of cream cheese with the warm mellow sweetness of pumpkin butter. A glass of warm apple cider and a handful of movies made these cookies even better. Make the most of the season and if at all possible, make these cookies. -Dan

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2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened 8 ounces cream cheese, softened ½ cup sugar ½ cup brown sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ½ teaspoon salt 2¼ cups all-purpose flour 2 egg + 1 tablespoon milk, beaten together 1 cup chopped walnuts 1 cup Pumpkin Butter Instructions

In large mixing bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, sugars, and vanilla extract. Use electric hand mixer or stand mixer and cream together. Slowly add flour until just mixed together. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in freezer for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place eggs and milk in small mixing bowl and beat until well blended. Place walnuts in separate small bowl. Remove dough from freezer and use teaspoon to scoop out meatball size portions. Roll between palm of hands to smooth ball, about 1.5 inches in diameter. Dip each cookie ball in egg and milk mixture then roll in walnuts. Place on cookie sheet and use thumb to create well in center of each cookie. Place about pumpkin butter in plastic sandwich bag and snip off small piece from corner. Gently squeeze bag to pipe pumpkin butter into the well of each cookie. Bake 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool on wire rack. 3.2.2807

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