Saturday, October 13, 2007

Preparation...


Pumpkin Cookies ("experimental batch")

The language school I work for at night is going to have a Halloween party in two weeks, and I'm thinking about bringing in some home-made sweets. If you are a long-term reader of this blog, you probably know how I have been cooking/baking to celebrate Western -- or I should say, American -- customs for years WITHOUT anyone to share the food and fun. Man, this school event must be a rare chance to make others eat what I bake for my own nostalgic reason. Why miss it?

So I've been looking for some "Japanised" recipes (to stay on the safe side) for Halloween goodies, and today I tried out a pumpkin cookie recipe that I bookmarked the other day. The cookies are very cute, easy to make, and more importantly, pretty cost-effective! ;) But to be perfectly honest, I'm a bit worried that they might taste a little too light or bland when eaten with other store-bought munchies at the party, thus I'm going to give the recipe a twist or two ... Good thing that I still have some time to experiment.


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23 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those do look delicious. Are those pistachios making up the "stem" of the pumpkin?

Anonymous said...

Hihi Obachan,
The first time I saw your photo, I thought they were actual mini pumpkins, and I was like, "Wow, how cute Japanese pumpkins are! So perfectly shaped and flawless!" And then I clicked on the link and realized they were the cookies themselves... ._."
They look adorable, I'm sure your students will love them!
-TingTing

K and S said...

kawaii!

Anonymous said...

They are so pretty! If they should taste bland (which I can hardly imagine), maybe you can spice things up with some orange zest, coconut or some nuts (hmmm, pistachio)?
Since Japanese (well, the ones I know) usually like more salty snacks, you might even try some Karepan-flavour like thingie, pumpkin usually goes nice with curry, so some kurkuma, cinnamon, garam masala and cumin should do the trick, plus, kurkuma will give it a really nice yellow color.

Fiona said...

These look absolutely amazing. =D

If you still want to add some spice to them, try the Mugglenet recipe for Pumpkin cookies: http://www.mugglenet.com/misc/rosmertas/pumpkincookies.shtml

This is the recipe I've been using the last few years for making them, and it usually tastes pretty nice (though I will admit that I use mixed spice in place of cinnamon).

Best of luck, though -- I hope your Pumpkin Cookies are well enjoyed.

~Fiona.

Makoto said...

Kawaii! They look adorable and I am sure they will taste perfect as well. :) Good luck with them! :)
Mako

Anonymous said...

Obachan,
Those pumpkins looks sooo adorable! I thought they were negikiri but they sure look tasty! ;)

child-prodigy said...

HALLOWEEN IS GREAT! hmm, I was thinking about baking cookies or pies/cakes for the holiday or just doing something with other people. The party is going to be a blast though! Have fun!

obachan said...

Sirpaul
Yep, they are stems. Actually they are roasted pumpkin seeds, not pistachios. Aren't they cute?

TingTing
Thank you! I hope the kids will love my cookies. That's why I'm feeling a little pressure now. I don't know how much spices would be "too much" for Japanese kids... (Or they may not like spices at all...)

K & S
Arigato! :D

Cara
Good ideas! I'm not sure if kids like orange zest (because it can give a slight bitterness), but nut version sounds good and curry version sounds really interesting. Thanks.

Fieona
Thanks for the link. Just one thing is that I'm not sure how Japanese kids in this rural town like spices, so I have to be careful about the amount I use. ;)

Makoto
Thanks. It's so much fun to make these small pumpkins.

Cocogirl
These are soft cookies -- a little dry and crispy on the outside and soft and moist on the inside. Pretty nice. ;)

Child-prodigy
I may dress up as a witch and scare the hell out of the kids. Hehehe... Fun fun!

Unknown said...

Very cute!

Anonymous said...

hi obachan! whoa! so cute! haha look at the little pumpkin seed for a stem! today i bought 3 HUGE pumpkins to carve for halloween. i love halloween...do kids dress up and ask for candy on halloween in japan?

[ - 雯'§ - ] said...

Hi Obachan,

Your cookies looks absolutely divine and super kawaii ...
Sorry to interrupt but is it possible for me to get the recipe from you ?

Cheerz,
Sonya

obachan said...

Lannae
Thanks! :D

Gabriel
Hi! Those pumpkin seeds really make a difference, don't they? ;)
Halloween is becoming more and more popular here in Japan and obviously confectionary companies are behind this trend, I think. Yep, kids are going to experience trick-or-treating in our Halloween event at the language school, but this custom is not popular in the regular neighborhood.

Sonya
Super kawaii? Wow, thank you :D
About the recipe -- feel free to email me at the address on the right sidebar. (If clicking on the "email me" does not work, right click on it and copy + paste the address.)

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Obachan, they look ever so pretty! Wonderful!

Cheers,

Rosa

xxx said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Oh.. Obachan..! you really, really make me feel so happy each time you try something new.. and experimental. I'm really envious with your skill. And everything you cook or bake are always so pretty.. ;)

Anonymous said...

hello obachan, im in search for creative cookies for this halloween and your recipe gave me a very good idea thanks..i'll try to make mine with shape of skulls LOL by the way.i found your site through lasang pinoy....

Anonymous said...

I love the fall and autumn holidays. These are totemo kawaii. Just love them. I will be emailing for the recipe as well if you don't mind.
Arigato Obachan!

Anonymous said...

your cokies are faboulous ; it's so cute and nice
sorry for my poor english, i'm french, see you soon,
patoo

obachan said...

Rosa
Thank you. I love the yellow color. :)

Mama bok
Oh, how nice of you to say that. Your comment always makes me happy.

Dhanggit
Hello. Thanks for dropping by.
So did you make skull-shaped cookies?

Kimberly
Thanks for the email. Hope you had a success with the cookies. ;)

Patoo
Thank you for your nice comment. I'm glad that so many people from different countries found these cookies cute. And your English is better than mine. :)

☆Hachiko☆ said...

ara, I was wonder if anybody else had made these cookies when I saw them on Cookpad a few weeks before Halloween.
:D Your batch looks pretty perfect!

obachan said...

I hate to sound like always jumping on a Cookbad bandwagon, but those recipes there with a lot of "tsuku-repo" really tempt me. Hahaha... :)

Anonymous said...

Hi Obachan!=D
Was just randomly clicking around until I bumped here. Those cookies look so CUTE!!!^-^
Umm..I was wondering if maybe you could share the recipe with me? I can't read japanese..T-T
I'll email you too..:) Thanks!
-aplpeeler-