Nothing funny about feldspar

Continuing on my quest to use up cooked winter squash in ways other than just reheating it, I’ve adapted one of last year’s christmas cookies for a cool fall day.

Autumn Squash Cookies

1½ cups hot cooked and puréed winter squash (I used roasted butternut)
1¼ cups brown sugar (not packed)
1 cup shortening (about half butter, half Crisco)
1¾ cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (I really use a lot of this in cooking, you may have noticed)
1 cup chopped pecans

Combine the ingredients in the order given and drop the mixture by spoonfuls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake the cookies in a preheated 350°F oven for about 15-20 minutes or so. (I use insulated pans, so if you don’t you might want to reduce the time.) They don’t really spread on the pan, so you can fit a lot on at once.

Result: about 5 dozen soft, somewhat sweet and nearly muffin-like cookies that go well with coffee or cider.

Note: Do not put in plastic. These are very close to being muffins, so plastic just makes ‘em soggy. However, popping them in a warm oven for a few minutes revives them quite well. Yum!