Pumpkin Pillow Cookies
By Rissa Miller, Senior Editor Vegetarian Journal
(Makes about 40 sandwich cookies)
Nothing says fall like biting into a gingery pumpkin cookie. Stuffing it with soft, fluffy vegan marshmallows only makes the experience better. Try this recipe with Dandies seasonal pumpkin mini marshmallows or their regular vegan mini-marshmallows. Testers agreed these cookies were especially comforting warm from the oven, served with hot tea or cocoa!
Dry Ingredients
2-3/4 cups flour, plus more for rolling
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
Pinch ground cloves (optional)
Pinch ground allspice (optional)
Wet Ingredients
1 cup vegan margarine, softened but not liquid (tested with Earth Balance and Country Crock Almond Plant Butter)
1 cup packed organic brown sugar
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree (plain, not pie filling)
1 Tablespoon molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon plain, unsweetened vegan milk
1 Tablespoons ground psyllium husk seeds
One 5-ounce bag pumpkin Dandies mini-marshmallows (plain mini Dandies work too)
2 Tablespoons decorative sugar (optional)
In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients and set aside. In a large bowl, mix vegan margarine, brown sugar, pumpkin, molasses, and vanilla with an electric mixer or by hand until well blended. Add in dry ingredients in three portions, mixing well each time. Quickly add in vegan milk and ground psyllium husk seeds. This is the binder and psyllium sets up very fast, so several fast strokes or a few circles in the bowl with an electric mixer will do the job. Dough will be soft but not too sticky.
Wrap in parchment paper or plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least one hour or up to overnight.
When ready to bake cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking sheets.
On a clean flat surface, spread some flour and rub flour on a rolling pin (a large jar or glass bottle will work if you don’t have a rolling pin). Working with half the dough, roll it flat until it’s about 1/8-inch thick. Add more flour as needed to prevent sticking. Using a standard (not wide mouth) 12 oz. Ball jar, cut out circles and place on the cookie sheets. Repeat until all dough is used and there are about 40 “bottoms.” Top each dough circle with 2-3 Dandies, until all are used up from the 5-ounce bag.
Repeat rolling second half of cookie dough and cutting circles. Place a dough circle on each Dandies-topped cookie and press edges lightly to keep the melty marshmallow inside during baking. If desired, top cookies with a sprinkle of decorative sugar.
Bake 12-14 minutes at 350 degrees until cookies are lightly browned on the bottom and Dandies are melted. Some marshmallows will squish out the sides. Allow to cool on the pan 5 minutes before serving. Store in a sealed container on the counter up to 3 days or longer in the fridge (if they last that long!).
