Pumpkin Creme Brûlée Cookies
Crispy and chewy pumpkin cookies topped with creamy vanilla pastry cream and a crackly caramelized sugar topping. They're not overly sweet, so the cookie balances perfectly with the rich pastry cream and brûléed sugar.
Servings: 12
Equipment
- Kitchen Torch
Ingredients
For the Vanilla Pastry Cream
- 2 ¼ cups whole milk
- 6 large egg yolks
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 5 tablespoons cornstarch
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the Pumpkin Cookies
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup pumpkin purée NOT pumpkin pie filling!
For the Brûléed Topping
- Granulated Sugar, as needed
Instructions
Make The Pastry Cream First!
- Add the milk to a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat until hot and steaming, but do not bring it to a full boil.
- While the milk heats, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium bowl until completely smooth.
- Slowly pour a small amount of the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture while whisking constantly. Continue adding the hot milk very gradually while whisking until fully incorporated. Adding the milk slowly will temper the eggs and prevent them from scrambling.
- Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium-low to medium heat, whisking constantly, until the pastry cream thickens and begins to gently bubble.
- Continue whisking for about 1 minute, then remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
- For an extra-smooth pastry cream, pour it through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl.
- Press plastic wrap directly against the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until completely chilled and set.
For The Pumpkin Cookies...
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until well combined.
- Add the egg and pumpkin purée and mix until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until combined. Don't overmix.
- Scoop the cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet (about 3 tbsp of dough for each cookie), leaving some space between each cookie for spreading.
- Bake for 14-15 minutes.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack and allow them to cool completely before assembling.
Assemble and Brûlée
- Right before serving, spread or pipe the chilled pastry cream over the completely cooled cookies.
- Sprinkle an even, thin layer of granulated sugar over the pastry cream.
- Use a kitchen torch to caramelize the sugar until golden brown and crisp.
- Let the sugar cool for about 1 minute, then serve immediately.
Notes
- Make sure the cookies are completely cool before adding the pastry cream.
- If you're making these for a party or holiday gathering, prepare the cookies and pastry cream ahead of time but store them separately.
- Spread or pipe the pastry cream onto the cookies right before serving. If the pastry cream sits on the cookies for too long, the cookies can absorb moisture and become soggy.
- Torch the sugar immediately before serving. Once brûléed, the cookies should be eaten right away for the best crisp, crackly topping.
- Keep the pastry cream refrigerated until you're ready to assemble the cookies.
- When tempering the egg yolks, add the hot milk very slowly while whisking constantly to prevent the eggs from scrambling.
Nutrition
Calories: 336kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 137mg | Sodium: 274mg | Potassium: 143mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 37g | Vitamin A: 1255IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 95mg | Iron: 1mg