The Pumpkin Spice Cookie to End all Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Listen, I get that the pumpkin spice trend is everywhere right now and you might be getting a little sick of it. As delicious as that spice combo is, there is only so much of it we as humans can handle in a month, and I might be reaching that threshold. I mean, did you see my Pumpkin Spice Errything video on YouTube? But before you wash your hands of this trend, I wanted to share possibly the most delicious cookie recipe I’ve ever made. These are the pumpkin spice cookies to end all pumpkin spice cookies.

I recently bought a bag of Nestle Pumpkin Spice Morsels at my local grocery store and immediately regretted it. It was a total impulse buy and I had no idea what to make with them other than plain old pumpkin spice drop cookies. I did a little brainstorming and came up with these: the Salted Caramel Pumpkin Spice Samoas.

Ok so let’s just break this down.

1. Salted caramel. ? If there was ever a need for the praise hands emoji, this is it. I will take salted caramel on my everything thankyouverymuch.
2. Pumpkin spice. Because ’tis the season, and all that jazz. Also, pumpkin spice is delicious no matter how trendy it is.
3. Samoas. Yes, those Samoas aka the best Girl Scout cookie in existence. Sure, Thin Mints are delicious, especially if you keep them in the freezer, but we all know Samoas win the Girl Scout cookie smackdown every time.

So let’s get baking, shall we?

Pumpkin Spice Shortbread

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
• 1 egg yolk

Yields about 36 cookies, depending on your cookie cutter size!

Directions

1. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. You will be baking these at 350 degrees F, but you have to chill the dough first so there’s no point in preheating just yet (unless you want to)!
2. In a bowl, sift together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt until blended.
3. In the bowl of a mixer, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Add the egg yolk and mix until incorporated.
5. Add the flour mixture a little at a time until blended.
6. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill at least one hour (While it’s chilling you can move on to the other two steps).
7. Once chilled, roll dough out to a little thicker than 1/8-inch thick.
8. Cut with a cookie cutter with a hole in the middle if you have one. Otherwise, you can MacGyver it like me and use a shot glass and a perfume lid ?. Basically, you’re going for the samoa shape.
9. Set about an inch apart on the baking sheets and bake at 350 degrees for 7 to 8 minutes.
10. Allow to cool on wire racks.

While your cookie dough is chilling, you can move on to the coconut. This step is super easy.

Toasted Coconut

Ingredients

• 2 cups shredded coconut. That’s it!

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Spread the coconut out on the baking sheet.
4. Bake for about 10 minutes, occasionally stirring to ensure an even toast!
5. Allow to cool.

And you’re done! See, I told you that was super easy.

Now for the salted caramel! My go-to salted caramel recipe is from Sally’s Baking Addiction, and it’s perfect! The link to the recipe is here. Some quick tips- STIR LIKE CRAZY. Don’t let your sugar burn, because if it does, you’re ruined. Also, before you even start, make sure you have everything measured and laid out within arm’s reach.

Assembling the Cookie

Ingredients

• Pumpkin spice shortbread cookies, cooled
• Salted caramel, cooled
• Toasted coconut, cooled
• About 2/3 of a bag of Nestle Pumpkin Spice Morsels

Directions

1. Heat the Pumpkin Spice Morsels in the microwave 30 seconds at a time until melted.
2. Dip the shortbread cookies in the melted morsels to cover just the bottom.
3. Place melted-morsal-side-up and allow to harden.
4. Once hardened, use a spatula or knife to spread a layer of salted caramel on the top of each cookie. At this point, you’ll have melted morsels on the bottom and caramel on the top.
5. Mix the remaining salted caramel with the toasted coconut until it sticks together but isn’t too runny. You want the coconut to hold itself together.
6. Sprinkle (or clump together and press on) the coconut on the top side of each cookie.
7. Drizzle the remaining melted morsels over the top and allow to cool.
8. Try not to eat every single one in one sitting.

Voila! Finished! I’m not exaggerating when I say that these might be my favorite cookies I’ve ever baked. I had to physically restrain myself from eating 10 in a day!

What do you think? If you try them, let me know!

xoxo Katie