Cinnamon Pumpkin Twists
Pumpkin. Everything. That’s the motto of anyone who loves fall and it’s time for something a little different. Sure we can do pumpkin cupcakes–those are awesome. Or we can put a spin on things with these crispy cookie-type cinnamon pumpkin twists complete with sweet glaze. (Officially we’ll call them cinnamon pumpkin twists.) Either way they make a blazing TON and you can freeze half the dough if you want.
Oh golly. Look at that glaze dripping off that crispy-tender sweet goodness? Do they look complicated? Because they aren’t. I did all the testing and trying and I tell you what–you can make these in one bowl and they are impressive. The glaze is just powdered sugar, vanilla and a bit of water and you don’t really need it if you don’t want it. I didn’t care much about having glaze but my family said they needed it. So that’s up to you, but I’m 99% sure you can’t mess these cinnamon sugar twists up no matter how you do it.
Originally, these might have made some sort of cookie type thing, and if you don’t want to twist yours, you could cut them out with a cookie cutter, add the cinnamon sugar and bake them that way. It would work. Other options for these would be to add some cinnamon to your glaze or dip them in chocolate. And then hide in your pantry and eat them all.
This is a bag batch of dough so if you don’t want to make them all the same day (my batch made about 45 twists or so) you can freeze half and make them later. You could–this is a great idea and it just came to me–twist them then put them on a cookie sheet and freeze them. Then just put them on a cookie sheet to bake them when you’re ready. Insta cookie. Insta twisty things. Insta genius. Insta save you time. Okay I’ll stop now.
Cinnamon Pumpkin Twists
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup walnuts finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 2 sticks butter softened (unsalted or salted)
- 7 ounces canned pumpkin puree
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- For the glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix the sugar, nuts and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In another bowl mix the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until lighter and a little fluffy. Add the pumpkin and mix well.
- Add the flour and mix with a spoon until all combined.
- Transfer the dough to a large sheet of plastic wrap and chill 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350.
- Unwrap your dough and divide it in half.
- Flour your countertop lightly and roll with a floured rolling pin or glass to about 1/2" thick (about a 12" circle) or a little less. Sprinkle with half the cinnamon sugar on and lightly press it on.
- Cut strips about an inch thick and twist. It's okay if some of the filling falls out. You can sprinkle it back on.
- Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet.
- Bake 17-19 minutes until golden and firmer--rotating pans halfway through.Cool on pans 5 minutes then transfer to a rack to cool. Cookies will firm even more as they cool so don't overbake them.
Nutrition
Cinnamon AND pumpkin! Yes!