a small kabocha squash (you’ll only need 7 oz/200 g of baked flesh, skin removed)
¾ cup (175 g or 6.17 oz) unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs, divided
8.1 oz (230 g) all-purpose flour
8.4 oz (240 g) kamut flour (see notes*)
7 oz (200 g) brown sugar
a pinch of salt
the zest of ½ organic lemon, grated
cinnamon, to taste
sugar, for sprinkling
Instructions
Cut the squash in half. Remove seeds with a spoon and cut each half into rough pieces. Place squash pieces on a baking tray and cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 360°F for about 40 min (or until pulp is tender). Your baked squash shouldn't be too moist and almost feel dry to the touch.
Remove squash from the oven and let cool. With a spoon, scoop out the flesh from the skin. For this recipe you will only need 7 oz (200 g) of pulp.
Pass pulp through a potato masher and into a big bowl. Add softened butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and lemon zest. Divide yolks from egg whites and set egg whites aside. Add yolks into the mixture and stir well, until all ingredients are combined.
Gradually add both flours to the mixture. Knead dough, but be careful not to overwork it. Form a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Remove dough from fridge and turn oven to 360°F.
Line a couple of baking trays with parchment paper. On a clean and lightly floured surface, roll the dough between ⅛ and ¼ inch thick (4-5 mm). Using a cookie cutter of your choice, cut out your cookies and transfer them on the baking trays, spacing them out a bit (Alternatively, you could roll dough directly on the parchment paper, and remove excess dough from cut-outs).
Lightly brush cookies with lightly beaten egg whites and sprinkle some sugar on top of each cookie.
Bake one tray at a time for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown.
Notes
Notes: *If you prefer to use only one kind of flour, you could simply use 1 lb (470 g) of all-purpose flour, gradually adding it to mixture. You may need to add more, as needed - i.e.: until dough is workable and not too sticky. The amount of flour may vary depending on your pumpkin moistness. For evenly baked cookies, make sure your dough is evenly rolled. It also helps to rotate your baking tray half way through the cooking.
Recipe by Very EATalian at https://www.veryeatalian.com/italian-hot-chocolate-pumpkin-cookies/