Pinterest Win or Fail: Pumpkin Cheesecake Snickerdoodles

Let me preface this by saying I DO NOT BAKE.

I try. And I'm real good at licking the beaters and the bowl, but I was not gifted with my Mamma's talent with the oven. 

Which is why Pinterest is so magical. So many pictures, so many descriptions. They make it look easy! So last night's challenge was to see if a Pinterest recipe for Pumpkin Cheesecake Snickerdoodles was truly do-able from the kitchen de SJ. 

HERE is the original recipe.

And what the final product should look like:

• In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together. Set aside.

Okay, we've already hit an obstacle. In the chaos of buying the ingredients after work two days before Thanksgiving, I forgot the flour. How does one forget the most IMPORTANT ingredient? 

Luckily, I know how to improvise. I had cookie mix buried in the back of my cupboard. First ingredient: FLOUR. So we sifted out the chocolate chips and used what was left. Unfortunately, this only left me with 2 cups of flour vs the 3 3/4 cups it called for....so we were going to have to cut the recipe. And do math. Not my strong point. 

• In a kitchenaid mixer with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugars on medium high speed until fluffy about 2-3 minutes.

And obstacle number two....I don't own a mixer. Let alone a paddle attachment. I have a whisk. And a bowl. So in order to get it to mix without giving my arms a workout, I melted the butter. What was meant to be "fluffy" would have to be more of a taffy-like consistency....

• Blend in pumpkin puree, beat in egg and then add vanilla. Slowly add dry ingredients on low speed just until combined. Cover and chill dough for an hour.
• To make the cream cheese filling, blend cream cheese, sugar and vanilla together. Chill for an hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 and line your baking sheets with parchment paper. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and spices for the coating and set aside.

DONE! It looks like I might win this one.

Don't worry, the coffee crystals and hot sauce weren't a part of my recipe. Time to do some cleanup while my dough chills.

• To make the cookies, take a tablespoon of the cookie batter. Flatten it like a pancake and place a teaspoon of the cream cheese in center. Form another tablespoon of the cookie batter into a flat pancake shape and place on top of the cream cheese. Pinch the edges together sealing in the cream cheese and roll into a ball. Roll in the cinnamon sugar coating and place on the prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart.

So my batter was too sticky to do much with after I got it on the pan. No pancake flattening. No ball rolling. But they still looked great! 

• Bake the cookies for 10-15 minutes or until the tops start to crack. Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and transfer to a wire rack. Enjoy!

They were smelling SCRUMPTIOUS when the timer went off....

So it's the moment we've all been waiting for.....

Pinterest WIN or FAIL?!

This video should have your answer.

THE FINAL VERDICT:

Taste: WIN

Presentation: FAIL

Although....when put side by side...you'd never know!