Pumpkin Cookies

A recipe card with a story

I love this recipe card because it tells a story. See the name Lydia written at the top? Lydia was one of my grandmother’s best friends and one of the people who helped her adjust to life as a farmer’s wife in a small town. I can imagine Lydia serving Grandma some of these cookies and Grandma immediately asking for the recipe. These Pumpkin Cookies would have been exactly the kind of treat she enjoyed because they’re full of spices, raisins, and nuts. 

If you look closely at the recipe card, you can tell it was hastily scrawled. Grandma might have been standing in Lydia’s kitchen as she jotted it down, or maybe they were talking on the phone. Whatever the reason, Grandma captured only the essentials, and I had to rely on my knowledge of cookie-making to help fill in the gaps. 

How to make Pumpkin Cookies

Taking the usual steps, I beat together the shortening (again with the shortening) and sugar. The egg and pumpkin went in next. 

 I then stirred together the dry ingredients and added them to the wet. 

The recipe called for half a cup of nuts and by chance, I had some toasted pecans on hand. This turned out to be good fortune because the toasted nuts added a satisfying crunch to the finished cookie. 

 But I’m getting ahead of myself because this was the point where I diverged from the recipe. I like raisins well enough, but most of my family members don’t. If I wanted to share the wealth and not have to eat the whole batch myself, I would have to add something other than raisins to some of the dough. Chocolate chips were the obvious choice, so I took out about a quarter of the dough and added raisins to that portion. Chocolate chips went into the rest. I had to guess at the amount. Grandma's recipe says 1/2 cup nuts & raisins. Did she mean half a cup of each? That might be enough raisins for a batch of dough but I like more than two morsels of chocolate in my cookies so I tossed in a generous amount. Using my trusty Danish whisk, I worked the raisins and the chocolate chips into the dough.

 I portioned out the dough using a medium scoop and kept the raisin and chocolate chip versions separate so they wouldn't contaminate each other.  (These aren't affiliate links, by the way.) 

The baking part of the process went a bit awry. Usually, I had no problems reading Grandma’s handwriting, but I couldn’t tell if the oven temperature was supposed to be 345 or 375. Baking cookies at 375 for 15 minutes seemed like overkill to me, so I tried 350 instead, but they were still a bit squishy after the allotted time ran out. Apparently, 375 was the correct answer. 

Another reason they possibly needed more time was that they didn’t spread. When I took them out, they were still as round as they were when they went in. I wish I'd shot a side view so you could see what I mean. All I have is this top view, but trust me, they were a mile high. 

I let them cool a minute then took one up, half expecting to bite into a hard tasteless ball. What I got was a pleasant surprise: fluffy and flavorful on the inside with pockets of sweetness and crunch from the raisins and nuts. On the outside, they’d crisped up, and the color was a bright and festively fall-looking orange. The one with chocolate chips was just as good. 

On second thought, maybe I could have eaten the whole batch myself. 

The verdict on Pumpkin Cookies

Yes, these belong in my digital box. Will I fiddle with this recipe? Possibly. If I did, I would try using butter instead of shortening. I might smash them down a bit before putting them in the oven to see if that makes them less like a ball. Round cookies aren’t a thing nowadays. But then, this is an old-fashioned recipe, and honestly, it tastes delicious as is.         

Click on the link below the recipe card to try them for yourself and taste a bit of fall.