Corn Cookies - Hannah Swensen

CORN COOKIES

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F rack in the middle position
2 cups white sugar
1 cup butter (2 sticks, ½ pound)
1 egg
1 15-ounce (by weight) can mashed pumpkin (I used Libby’s)
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup golden raisins
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon cardamom
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 cups flour (no need to sift)
1 package of candy corn
Melt the butter. Add the sugar and mix.
Let the mixture cool to room temperature and then stir in the egg.
Then add the rest of the ingredients, all except the flour,
mixing after each addition.
Now add the flour, one cup at a time, and mix it thoroughly.
Let the cookie dough sit for 5 minutes to "rest."

Drop by spoonful on a greased cookie sheet,
12 cookies per standard sized sheet.
Flatten the cookies with a greased spatula.
(If the dough is too sticky, refrigerate it for a few minutes to firm it up.)

Bake at 375 degrees F. for 8 to 10 minutes.

When the cookies come out of the oven, leave them on the cookie
sheets and immediately press pieces of candy corn on top as a design.
Do this right away so that the candy will stick after the cookies have cooled.***
Let the cookies cool on the sheets for 2 minutes and then transfer them
to a wire rack to cool completely.
Yield: 6 to 7 dozen, depending on cookie size.

*** - If you fail to put on the candy corn when the cookies are still hot
from the oven, you can put it on later using a little dab of powdered
sugar frosting (powdered sugar with a tiny bit of milk) as "glue."

Tracey’s friends really loved these cookies and they all offered to help
me decorate them next year.
(Published in "Cupcake" by Joanne Fluke - a Hannah Swensen Mystery)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Word of Warning about COCOA

When cocoa is used in any of my recipes, make sure to use plain old
American cocoa (I usually use Hershey’s unsweetened cocoa.) There
are many designer cocoas on the market. They’re wonderful in their
own right, but they won’t work in my recipes. Make sure you don’t
buy cocoa mix, which has powdered milk and a sweetener added.
Stay away from Dutch process cocoa – it has alkaline added. Also
beware of cocoas that are mixed with ground chocolate or other
flavorings. They won’t work either. Things were simpler in my
grandmother’s day (and she’s the one who gave me the Cocoa
Snaps recipe.) If you’re in doubt, check the ingredients that are
listed on the container of cocoa. It should say "cocoa" and nothing else.