Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Shortbread

 

I think it’s safe to say that I’m a little obsessed with pumpkin spice, even though I’m yet to have a PSL so far this year. So today I’ll be sharing with you my recipe for Pumpkin Spice Shortbread. Rich and buttery, this crumbly shortbread embodies all the flavours of Autumn whilst still melting in the mouth and being absolutely delicious. 

Ingredients 

- 115g Butter

- 175g Plain Flour 

- 55g Caster Sugar

- Pinch Of Salt

- 2 Tsps Pumpkin Spice Mix 

Method 

1- Pre heat the oven to 180C. Line a tin of your choosing with greaseproof paper. This can be a round sandwich tin like I used or a flat baking tray so you can roll and cut out your desired shape. 

2- Into a bowl place your plain flour, caster sugar and salt/ 

3- Add your butter and rub together until it resembles breadcrumbs. You can also use a food processor to do this but I don’t have one and find it quite satisfying to do with my fingers. 

4- Add your pumpkin spice mix and continue to rub together with your fingers until the mixture starts coming together to resemble a dough. You may require some water to get the dough to come together but you don’t want to add too much as it’ll make the dough too wet and it will just stick to the sides of the bowl. 

5- Now I planned on using some leave shaped cutters and being all Autumnal and that but my amazon order got lost in the post and I had to just pop my dough into my prepared round tin and bake it. You can use any cutter you like and just need to roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface before using your cutters to create your desired shape. Then it’s just a case of popping them onto your prepared tin and popping them into the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. 

6- Once your shortbread is cooked, leave it to cool in the tin completely. Then once it’s cooled all that’s left to do is cut it if you’ve cooked it in a tin like mine or just peel gently off the greaseproof paper and enjoy with a cup of coffee. 

Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Loaf

On Thursday I shared with you my first Pumpkin Spice recipe. And today I’m back with another. What can I say, I just love pumpkin spice. But honestly a lot of this recipe is just from the fact that I love a good loaf recipe now that I’ve actually mastered how to cook a good loaf. And this loaf is divine. A delicious brown sugar based loaf packed with pumpkin spice mix and topped with a sweet coffee buttercream that just makes me long for my first PSL of the season. 

Ingredients 

For The Sponge

- 150g Light Brown Sugar

- 150g Stork

- 150g Self Raising Flour 

- 3 Eggs

- 2 Tsps Pumpkin Spice Mix

For The Buttercream 

- 150g Butter, softened

- 270g Icing Sugar

- 2 Tsps Vanilla Extract

- 2 Tsps Coffee Extract 

Method 

1- Pre heat oven to 150C. Line your 2lb loaf tin with greaseproof paper or a loaf tin liner. 

2- Place your stork and light brown sugar into a bowl. Cream together until pale in colour and fluffy in texture. 

3- Add your eggs one at a time, each followed with a tablespoon of flour. Beat well in between each egg, taking care to scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl. 

4- Fold in the rest of your flour along with your pumpkin spice mix. Take your time folding these in as it’ll help to keep the air you’ve just beaten into the mixture. If you’re wondering how to make pumpkin spice mix then just pop it into google and there will be a ton of recipes. 

5- Spoon your mixture into your loaf tin evenly and bake for 45-60 minutes. I always advise putting your loaf tin on another flat baking tray so that if your mixture decides to overflow when cooking then it goes onto the tray and not straight into your oven. 

6- Once your loaf is cooked (a skewer comes out clean) place to one side and leave to cool. I always advise leaving it to cool in the tin for ten minutes and then transfer it to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. 

7- Now it’s time to make your buttercream. You don’t have to top this loaf with a buttercream but I like how it looks and tastes with the buttercream. Place your softened butter into a clean bowl and beat until soft and pale in colour. 

8- Sieve in half your icing sugar and beat until fully combined. Take care to fold the icing sugar in first before going mad with the mixing otherwise everything from yourself to your units and even the family pet will end up covered in a thin coating of icing sugar. 

9- Sieve in the remaining half of your icing sugar and beat again. 

10- Now it’s time to add your flavourings. I use a mixture of coffee and vanilla so it’s less bitter and gives the flavour of a sweetened coffee. Beat the extracts until they’re fully combined, taking care to scrape the edges of the bowl so nothing is left unincorporated. 

11- Usually I’d add some milk to the buttercream to create a nice piping consistency but the combination of the two extracts has loosened the mixture and created the perfect consistency. So all you need to then do is spoon into a piping bag fitted with a nozzle of your choice and decorate your now cooled loaf. 

12- Then once it’s decorated all that’s left to do is to cut yourself a huge slice and enjoy with a massive cup of tea or coffee.