Don’t you love how right it feels to cook and bake when the cool weather sets in? Not much is cozier than an apron, a candle, some jazz in the background, and (of course) a couple set of little helping hands. Here are two recipes we’re enjoying. One is already a classic cold-weather dinner around here, and the other something we tried for the first time this week.

Butternut* Squash Soup

2 (biggish) butternut squash
2 T butter
1 onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
4 russet potatoes
chicken stock
allspice
nutmeg
ginger
cinnamon
salt and pepper
cream (or milk)

Start by roasting the squash: heat the oven to 375; cut the squash in half and place in a pan, cut-side down; add about an inch of water; roast for an hour or until flesh is very soft.

Saute onions and garlic in butter until soft. Peel and dice potatoes. (A note about potatoes: I don’t really know how many I use. I just aim at having about as much potato as squash, so I eyeball it, depending on the size of my squash.) Add potatoes to pot, and then cover with chicken stock (or water with chicken bouillon with no MSG!) Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Scoop the flesh from the squash and add it to the pot. Now is when a stick blender comes in really handy. Use it to puree the soup; otherwise, pour in batches into a blender. (Be careful; it’s hot!) Once back in the pot, add spices to taste. I start with about 1/2 a teaspoon of the spices, and about a teaspoon of salt. But that’s never enough! I like mine a bit ginger-y. And I love nutmeg. Get it how you like it, then add about 1/2 a cup of cream or milk. Warm it through, and serve. It’s best with a slice of freshly homemade whole wheat bread. Yum!

*I’ve just been using whatever squash they put in my CSA box, and so far, so good!

Pumpkin Cut-Out Cookies

These were actually even better the next day. How often does that happen?

3/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup solid pack pumpkin puree
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 pinch salt

In a medium bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar. Stir in the pumpkin. Add the eggs and vanilla, mix well. Sift together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt; stir into the pumpkin mixture.

Chill dough for minimum of 1 hour (I did 2 to be safe!).

Preheat oven to 375.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes and place onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, till a bit golden on the bottom. Cool on sheet for 2 minutes, then remove to rack (or just dump then on the kitchen table. Ha!)

Glaze:

1 cup confectioners sugar
splash of vanilla
1-2 tablespoons of milk

Mix till smooth. You want a bit of a runny consistency, so add more milk if needed. I use a pastry brush to “paint” the cookies. Nice and fast!