Kabocha cookies that don’t taste like pumpkin pie? I have a bias when it comes to pumpkin or squash desserts, and it’s this: I don’t want to do what everybody does. Anybody can dump a tablespoon of pumpkin pie spices into cookies or pie or cake, and you’ll end up with a dessert that tastes pretty much like any other squash or pumpkin dessert. You’ll also have drowned out the subtle sweet sunshiny vegetable flavor, replacing it with that familiar cinnamon-nutmeg-ginger-clove chart-topping hit. This is a formula that bores me a bit.
So, be warned: if you’re looking for a cookie that tastes like pumpkin pie, this isn’t your recipe. If you’re looking for a buttery, chewy burst of kabocha joy, you’ve come to the right place.
Gluten Free and Not Too Sweet
Sometimes, wonderful things happen when people have some strict dietary preferences. In this case, I was baking for one person who likes sweet-but-not-too-sweet desserts, and another who can’t eat gluten. I had some tasty baked kabocha squash to use up, and this delicious recipe was born. It’s a great afternoon tea cookie, holds up well in a bag lunch, and is oddly addictive. If your oven treats you right, you’ll get a toasty crisp outside, a chewy sugar/butter inside, and a subtle mix of nutty, pumpkin-y, and spice flavors.
What Kind of Squash?
I’m sharing this recipe in February, which is a few months out from the peak Fall harvest season for squashes in the US. Now, in your supermarket or root cellar, you’re more likely to find the squashes that keep the best in storage. Kabocha are at the top of the list, along with tetsukabuto and buttercup. These squashes are dryer, especially after storage. To make the squash for the recipe, you could bake, steam, or pressure cook it in the instant pot.
Ingredients with dense, dry, flavor are good for making cookies that have a crisp/chewy texture. I don’t prefer cookies with a cakey texture, and I think most people agree. With that said, even though it’s a bit wetter than a kabocha, you can get away with using the often-available butternut squash in this recipe instead. Just make sure you bake the butternut well to evaporate most of the water.
Recipe Tip: Gluten-Free Flour Choices
In testing the recipe, I used a combination of two flours. First, store-bought almond flour, a finely-ground, light colored version such as Bob’s Red Mill. Second, oat flour that I made myself from rolled oats. This is the cheap way to get oat flour and reduce the overall cost of your cookie. Just put oats in a coffee grinder or strong blender, and whir until powdery, then measure for the recipe. Even though oats have no gluten, a lot of rolled oats are not certified gluten free because they are processed or packaged in facilities with mixed uses. So, if your kabocha cookie-eater has serious celiac disease and avoids the slightest gram of gluten, buy a certified oat flour instead.
Does this recipe work with a gluten-free all purpose flour? I didn’t test it, but it should. If you try it, let me know.
Making Brown Butter
The combination of the subtle nuttiness in three different ingredients is what makes this cookie so quietly delicious. Brown butter, winter squash, almond flour each deliver their own spin on rich, nutty, flavor.
It’s not hard to brown butter but it does generate an extra step and another pot to wash. Just put the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, stir now and then, and watch under good light. Medium heat can vary a lot, so use your nose and eyes and not your timer. Over the course of around 10 minutes, the butter will go from pale yellow, to amber, to a rich golden chestnut brown. All butter has solids (little specks of something like milk powder) that will sink to the bottom of the pan as the butter cooks. Watch these specks in particular as they will burn first.
If you’re not sure, take the butter off the heat as it will cook more as the pan cools. You can always put it back on.
Kabocha Squash Brown Butter Tea Cookies – Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 4 Tbsp butter
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ¼ cup baked kabocha squash
- ½ cup oat flour Grinding rolled oats works well.
- ¾ cup almond flour
- ⅛ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp powdered ginger
Instructions
- If you don't have leftovers, bake the squash. If it's still watery, spread the bit you're using in a thin layer on parchment or a cookie sheet and leave it in the oven to dry a bit longer. Measure. Put in a bowl and mash, whisk, or beat well until no big bits remain.
- Brown the butter, following the instructions above.
- Add the brown butter and sugar to the squash. Combine well.
- If you are making your own oat flour, grind rolled oats in a coffee grinder or blender.
- Add the flours and spices to the dough. Mix.
- Shape into a log about 1½ inches across. Wrap in plastic and form the log into a square shape.
- Chill for at least 30 minutes. Cheat in the freezer if you are in a hurry. While chilling the dough, preheat the oven to 350°.
- Slice dough about ½ inch thick and place on parchment on a cookie sheet. Expect the dough to keep its shape, so you can put them close together.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly brown. These cookies are best after they cool to room temperature.
