Pumpkin-Toffee Cookies with Salted Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting
Remember how in my last post I said I was going to share a recipe using the frosting from the cupcakes that prompted my food blog? Well, here it is, and man is it a good one! It may actually be one of my favorite recipes that I have ever created!
If you know me, you know I tend to get a bit pumpkin-crazy as soon as fall begins, and it becomes basically all I want to cook/bake with! Hopefully, you follow Spache the Spatula on Facebook, so you saw that AWESOME recipe for a Pumpkin-Chai Latte I posted there yesterday ;). And aside from this recipe and the latte, I have many more pumpkin recipes a’comin’!
So, let’s discuss these gorgeous cookie/whoopie pie-like dreams. The cookie portions are soft, but not as soft as a traditional whoopie pie, and much more cookie-like. They are dense pumpkiny-chai-flavored mounds littered with tons and tons of little toffee pieces. The salted caramel in the frosting really compliments and amplifies the toffee flavor. I used my go-to Salted Vanilla Bean Caramel recipe, but store-bought would work in a pinch.
Tasting the tangy, salty, sweet, unctuous frosting completely brought me back to those Salted Caramel Cupcakes. Once you taste the frosting, (which by the way, the recipe makes more than you will need for these cookie sandwiches….you’re welcome) I think you will understand why it is start-a-blog worthy!
These are perfect with a mug of coffee or Chai tea (and especially the Pumpkin-Chai Latte I posted on Facebook!) for ultimate Fall relaxation. Mikey brought the cookies to work and they were extremely well-received! They elicited many Mmmm’s!
PrintPumpkin-Toffee Cookies with Salted Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting
Yield: about 2 dozen cookies (1 dozen cookie sandwiches)
Ingredients:
for the frosting:
- 1/2 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 8 ounces (1 packages) Neufchâtel cream cheese (the 1/3 less fat variety), at room temperature
- 4-6 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1 cup Salted Vanilla Bean Caramel
for the cookie sandwiches:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2-1 tsp freshly-grated nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup tightly packed golden-brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup pure pumpkin puree
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp bourbon
- 8 oz. bag Heath toffee bits
- Salted Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting
Directions:
for the frosting:
- In an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add in 2 cups of confectioners' sugar and beat until combined. Add in the caramel and beat until combined. Add in 2-4 more cups of confectioner's sugar, in 1 cup increments, until you reach the desired sweetness and consistency.
- Refrigerate until ready to use.
for the cookie sandwiches:
- Line a couple baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and spices; set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars for a couple minutes. Add in the egg and bourbon and mix on medium-high speed for about 5 minutes. Add in the pumpkin puree and mix for another 3-5 minutes. On low speed, add in the flour mixture and mix until combined. Stir in the toffee.
- Using a medium-size cookie scoop, scoop the cookies onto the prepared baking sheets. Place no more than 8 cookies on each sheet---a row of 3, a row of 2, and another row of 3. (To save space, you can place all of the cookies on one sheet, and move them to separate sheets when ready to bake.) Place the cookies in the fridge for at least an hour.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake the cookies for 20 minutes, until golden and set. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes on the baking sheet before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
- With a small cookie scoop, scoop 1-2 tablespoons of frosting onto the bottom of a cookie. Press another cookie against it. Repeat with remaining cookies.
recipe inspired by this
