DIY – Pumpkin cookies {recipe} (my NYC wedding favors) and packaging tips

In recent years, I liked baking quick banana bread for my mom to take to her co-workers or a lemon-lime tofu cheesecake to partake in cheesecake deliciousness with less guilt.  Tofu in dessert, weird I know, but it’s a good recipe really and people don’t know there’s tofu in there!

Anyhoo, I knew that I wanted to bake cookies for my guests at our NYC reception.  It was just a favor that really reflected me.  My friends really tried to dissuade me from baking (obviously this can only be done at most a few days before and they didn’t want me to be stressed out).  But I was fortunate that one of my bridesmaids was staying with me.  That poor sweet lady helped me bake until 3 in the morning (she was really paying for her stay)!  It turned out to be a great experience and reminded us of our late nights in France.  We turned out almost 200 mini delicious cookies.  The Mr. made the recipe cards which we put next to the favor boxes.  It was a great “family” effort.
Baking tips:

• Get help from your wonderful family and friends
• Have extra materials just in case
• Have extra baking tools
• Calculate for COOLING time – I think my lady Ms. Thirty Something Bride mentioned this delayed things for her as well,
  
• If something goes wrong, nix it altogether – it’s not worth the stress 

Packaging Tips:

• Measure, make sure your package fits your contents well
• Reinforce your package if needed
• Do as much of the packaging set up before hand if possible
  
• Pick a package that does NOT require too much assembly – my ribbon boxes were cute right?  They were a PAIN to put together.  They had to be set up in the box shape, taped on the bottom because they couldn’t hold, and tied with ribbons.  Plastic bags can be cute as well and with the right stickers would also work.

Anyway hope that helps.  If you’re in the mood for baking, I definitely recommend these cookies (they get a little cakey sometimes so a little more mixing helps to make it not as puffy)!

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 cup pumpkin puree (I used half of a freshly roasted small pumpkin)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup butterscotch chips

Servings:  Makes 30-50 cookies depending on the size of your cookie

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. Stir flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl, and set aside. Beat the eggs and sugar until smooth, about 1 minute.  On low speed, mix in the oil, pumpkin, and vanilla until blended. Mix in the flour mixture to incorporate it. Mix in the butterscotch chips.
3. Drop by rounded teaspoon onto ungreased cookie sheets and bake until lightly brown, 10 to 12 minutes.
4. Cool for 5 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
5. The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 4 days.