Monday, May 25, 2015

Apricot Blueberry Cherry Crisp.

Ahh, fruit season is heeeeere! Apricots? Check. Half flat of strawberries? Yes, please. Oranges, apples, bananas, cherries, blueberries, plums, nectarines, pluots, peaches, melons, pineapple... do you even have to ask? Organic Bartlett pears? Hand them over! Just because the weather in the city has been dreary this Memorial Day weekend, doesn't mean the kitchen has to be.


So we may or may not have gone a little overboard on the produce purchases, and rather than risk the decay of a pound of apricots, I made an apricot blueberry cherry crisp.

The recipe I used was basically this one from The Kichn, copied below:

Blueberry and Apricot Crumble
Fruit
1 1/2 pounds fresh apricots
1/2 pint (6 to 8 ounces) fresh blueberries 
Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar 
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
Topping
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
Pinch salt
1 (4-ounce) stick chilled butter, cut into cubes

Preheat oven to 350°F and have ready an 8x10-inch baking dish.
For the fruit
Halve, pit, and quarter the apricots and combine in a bowl with the blueberries, lemon zest and juice, brown sugar, and nutmeg. Set aside to macerate while you prepare the topping.
For the topping
In another bowl, combine flour, oats, almonds, brown sugar, nutmeg, and salt. Using your fingers, rub the butter into the mixture until it forms clumps.
Give the fruit a stir and then pour it into the baking dish, making sure apricots and blueberries are evenly distributed. Evenly sprinkle the topping over the fruit.
Bake in the oven until topping is golden brown and fruit is bubbling around the sides, about 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit at least 20 minutes before serving.

MY NOTES:
1. I didn't really measure the fruit. I think I used about a cup and a half of blueberries, a pound of apricots, and two large handfuls of cherries. Here they are looking all lovely together as they macerate:



2. No lemons in the house. After thinking about it, I consulted with the DH and we agreed to try orange juice. I'm the more cautious of the two of us when it comes to substitutions, so when he immediately pulled out the lemon press and cavalierly started juicing the orange into the fruit mix, no measuring cups in sight, I may have shoved him to the side and threatened physical violence. But only out of love-- for him and for the delicate summer stone fruit. Because I had spent the better part of the past hour pitting cherries and apricots, and couldn't handle the thought of this dish coming out tasting like oranges. Anyway, lesson learned: orange juice works. I wish I could say how much went in but it couldn't have been more than juice from half an orange. No zest.

3. No sliced almonds, so I just used a mix of roasted pecans, raw walnuts, raw almonds, and roasted cashews all chopped up-- way more than a fourth of a cup-- and it turned out fine. I forgot about the nutmeg in the topping, so it lacked some flavor. Mixed everything by hand.

4. It came out fine. The filling was VERY liquidy which makes me think perhaps I should've tossed the fruit in a tablespoon or so of flour. I forgot to take a pic of the crisp when it was whole (of course), but here it is after I drained all the extra juice... into my mouth.



5. The combination works! The cherries are especially lovely as they plump up with the juice from the other fruit.

6. Would I make this particular recipe again? Probably not. Nothing really stood out about it. But was it yummy-- yes, with all those fruits and nuts, how could it not be.

7. The DH was in charge of the mutter aloo tofu and here's a gratuitous shot of that. What a talented man he is!

Friday, May 22, 2015

Banana Pancakes

Sunday morning was pancake morning in my house. Every week, after five days straight of oatmeal or cream of wheat, Saturday would be cereal day and Sunday would be pancake morning. I woke up when my mom did and would help her in the kitchen. She used a mix-- usually the Betty Crocker Just Add Water kind, although occasionally we'd buy Aunt Jemima or Bisquick.-- and would mix the water in and go. The first one would always be too light, but then after that she always got them that perfect Denny's-commercial-worthy golden brown color.  We used Parkay Squeeze margarine on top of the pancakes and topped it heavily with the Aunt Jemima or Log Cabin sugar syrup. 

And although now I scoff at box mixes, margarine, and fake syrup, I still love pancakes. Thus the ongoing search for the best recipe. Last week, the DH and I made breakfast for dinner after a long work week. He cooked the frittata and I made pancakes using this recipe: 

Everyday Pancakes, by Mark Bittman
(http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1893-everyday-pancakes)

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon sugar, optional
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 ½ to 2 cups milk
  • 2 tablespoons melted and cooledbutter (optional), plus unmelted butter for cooking, or use neutral oil

PREPARATION

  1. Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium-low heat. In a bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Beat eggs into 1 1/2 cups milk, then stir in 2 tablespoons melted cooled butter, if using it. Gently stir this mixture into dry ingredients, mixing only enough to moisten flour; don't worry about a few lumps. If batter seems thick, add a little more milk.
  2. Place a teaspoon or 2 of butter or oil on griddle or skillet. When butter foam subsides or oil shimmers, ladle batter onto griddle or skillet, making pancakes of any size you like. Adjust heat as necessary; usually, first batch will require higher heat than subsequent batches. Flip pancakes after bubbles rise to surface and bottoms brown, after 2 to 4 minutes.
  3. Cook until second side is lightly browned. Serve, or hold on an ovenproof plate in a 200-degree oven for up to 15 minutes.
  4. MY NOTES:
  5. 1. I smashed in a very ripe banana into the batter-- delicious as always. I also added walnuts and some chocolate chips and served warm real maple syrup on the side. 
  6. 2. I also made these on a Griddler because it allows me to make several at once. I set both plates for 350 degrees. 
  7. 3. I halved the recipe, but otherwise really made no adjustments. I left out the tablespoon of sugar. 
  8. 4. These ended up being a little dry, even with the banana-- probably because I let them sit too long on the griddler. And ask the pictures show, they didn't turn out that beautiful even tan color that my mother's pancakes had. 
  9. 5. I've also included a picture of the DH's frittata because he's rather proud of it. 





Sunday, May 10, 2015

Quick Food Processor Pizza Dough (Bread Flour)

Okay, so I have wanted a food processor for THE LONGEST TIME. I had an inkling that something big was missing from my life in the kitchen, but I didn't really know what until I had a glimpse of a food processor in use at my college roommate's mom's kitchen when we went back to her home in Minnesota for Easter and watched it shred carrots, chop onions, and make homemade nutella in a single weekend visit. But really, the ode to the food processor by Mark Bittman is what really alerted  me to how much better life would be with a food processor in it. Of course food processors are expensive, and bulky, and a pain to clean, so really, did I need one? No. But did I practically salivate every time I saw one in the store? It's possible. Finally, eight or so years later, my time came, and I have to say that it is everything I thought it would be. So far the DH and I have made pie crust, hummus, muhummara, sliced vegetables, and pesto. And last night we tried this recipe! 


Quick Pizza Dough

 
  • TimeAbout 30 minutes
  •  
  • Yield2 crusts (4 servings)

Karsten Moran for The New York Times
  • 2 ¾ cups/390 grams bread flour
  • 2 ½ teaspoons/7 grams active dry yeast(1 packet)
  • 2 teaspoons sea salt
  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 2 or 3 tablespoons medium or coarse cornmeal

PREPARATION

MAKE THE DOUGH:

  1. Put the flour, yeast and salt in a food processor. With the machine running, pour the oil through the feed tube, then add the water in a slow, steady stream. Continue to process for 2 to 3 minutes (the dough should form a rough ball and ride around in the processor). The finished dough should be soft, slightly sticky and elastic. If too dry, add a bit more water; if too wet, a tablespoon or so more flour.
  2. Lay a 12-inch-long piece of plastic wrap on a clean work surface. Work the dough into a rectangle on the plastic, about 8 inches long and 6 inches wide. Press your fingers into the top of the dough all over, making indentations as though it were a focaccia. Fold the left third of the dough over (as you would a letter) and repeat the indentations. Fold the right third over and make the indentations again. Cover the folded dough with plastic wrap and let rise for 20 minutes.
  3. Cut the dough in half, form each piece into a neat ball, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and transfer to the freezer. The morning before you want to make pizza, transfer the dough to the refrigerator to thaw.

MAKE THE PIZZA:

  1. Bring the dough to room temperature, 15 to 20 minutes. Put a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 550 degrees. (If you don’t have a stone, oil a rimmed baking sheet and set aside.) Dust a peel or the greased baking sheet generously with cornmeal. Working with the dough in your hands (not flat on a work surface), gently begin to stretch the dough into a circular shape, pressing your fist into the center of the dough and pulling at the edges with your other hand. With both hands, stretch the dough, being careful not to tear it. Working in a circular motion, pull the thicker edges of the dough outward, letting gravity help you. Continue to stretch the dough until it’s relatively even in thickness (the edges will be thicker) and you have the size you want. Carefully lay it on the peel or baking sheet.
  2. Top the pizza as desired and either slide it off the peel and onto your heated stone, or place the baking sheet into the oven. Cook the pizza for 6 to 10 minutes or until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbling.
  3. So we used it to make a simple "Mexican Pizza" -- a black bean spread (black beans food processed with canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce sauce adding as little water as possible), sauteed mushrooms and onions, green bellpeppers, tomatoes, cheese, and avocado and cilantro to top it off. 

  4. My thoughts on the dough:

  5. 1. Easy enough in the food processor. Pour all the liquid in at once just like the recipe says--- I was nervous that all the dough wasn't coming together and added a bit of water at the end which resulted in some patches of super sticky dough while the rest was just as it should be. 

  6. 2. This dough was easy stretch out and pretty resilient. Crust did not super poof. 

  7. 3. We had this wrapped in plastic wrap in the fridge over night, and perhaps we wrapped it too tight because it broke through the plastic wrap and started to pouch it. So strange. Next time, wrap it a little more loosely?
  8. 4. Would definitely make again as it's pretty standard-- not super flavorful or anything on it's own, though. I'd love to try some whole wheat flour in it next time or maybe through some herbs in there. 
  9. Pictures are below. Of course I forgot again to take a picture of it before the DH and I dug in, so there's only half a pizza left. 
  10.  And here's a close up of the pizza crust.



Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gluten Free, Dairy Free)

So one of my friends is GF, DF and I remember last year for her birthday, we had a hard time finding some sort of treat we could stick a candle into that she would enjoy. So this year, I thought I'd try out these cookies because any excuse to bake is a good excuse to bake. I followed the Five-Ingredient Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe from Blue Apron. Recipe is copied and pasted below. Overall they were quite easy to put together and were eaten in a flash. In fact, the DH requested his own batch (poor thing only had half of one from the first batch as I made slightly bigger cookies and there wasn't enough to keep).

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies

INGREDIENTS
1 cup creamy peanut butter
¾ cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg
½ cup dark chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a large bowl, combine the first 4 ingredients together. Then, stir in the chocolate chips.
Using your hands, form the dough into golf-ball-sized balls (approximately 1 1/2 inches) and place onto a baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until browned.
Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Then, using a spatula, transfer the cookies to a wire rack and cool completely
Makes 12-14 cookies.

MY NOTES:
1. I used skippy "natural" no stir peanut butter for the first batch. For the second batch, I finished up the no stir peanut butter but also added some of the TJ's crunchy peanut butter that really requires stirring. I didn't pull out a measuring cup for the peanut butter, I just eyeballed it and I was completely fine. 
2. Eight to nine minutes is really enough. The first batch had slightly larger cookies, and nine minutes was all it took.
3. They don't spread very much. If you place them on the tray in all their rounded glory, they become a little poofy, but do sink a bit when they cool. If you flatten them, they spread a little more, and look a lot like a normal chocolate chip cookie. 
4. I used Guittard semi sweet chips, and probably was more generous than half a cup. Also, dark brown sugar made no difference. 
5. These were good warm from the oven, and good the next day. Very soft and moist. My hope is to try this recipe out with fresh peanut butter to see if I can get it to have a more "peanut buttery" taste.

6. I added a splash of vanilla because why not?
Yum!
The cross section of one of the cookies from the first batch!

The second batch is below. I don't know if it's because of the mix of peanut butters but they turned out slightly darker.

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Homemade Pop Tarts

I made poptarts for the DH's birthday the past weekend. I made two variations-- regular and whole wheat. I used the smittenkitchen recipe for the regular pop tart which I've copied and pasted below (http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2010/04/homemade-pop-tarts/)

Homemade Pop Tarts
Adapted from King Arthur Flour
Pastry
2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into pats
1 large egg
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) milk
1 additional large egg (to brush on pastry)
Cinnamon Filling (enough for 9 tarts)
1/2 cup (3 3/4 ounces) brown sugar
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, to taste
4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 large egg, to brush on pastry before filling
Jam Filling
3/4 cup (8 ounces) jam
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon cold water
Alternate fillings: 9 tablespoons chocolate chips, 9 tablespoons Nutella or other chocolate-hazelnut paste or 9 tablespoons of a delight of your choice, such as salted caramel or a nut paste
To make cinnamon filling: Whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, and flour.
To make jam filling: Mix the jam with the cornstarch/water in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, and simmer, stirring, for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, and set aside to cool. Use to fill the pastry tarts.
Make the dough: Whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Work in the butter with your fingers, pastry blender or food processor until pea-sized lumps of butter are still visible, and the mixture holds together when you squeeze it. If you’ve used a food processor, transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Whisk the first egg and milk together and stir them into the dough, mixing just until everything is cohesive, kneading briefly on a well-floured counter if necessary.
Divide the dough in half (approximately 8 1/4 ounces each), shape each half into a smooth rectangle, about 3×5 inches. You can roll this out immediately (see Warm Kitchen note below) or wrap each half in plastic and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
Assemble the tarts: If the dough has been chilled, remove it from the refrigerator and allow it to soften and become workable, about 15 to 30 minutes. Place one piece on a lightly floured work surface, and roll it into a rectangle about 1/8″ thick, large enough that you can trim it to an even 9″ x 12″. [You can use a 9″ x 13″ pan, laid on top, as guidance.] Repeat with the second piece of dough. Set trimmings aside. Cut each piece of dough into thirds – you’ll form nine 3″ x 4″ rectangles.
Beat the additional egg and brush it over the entire surface of the first dough. This will be the “inside” of the tart; the egg is to help glue the lid on. Place a heaping tablespoon of filling into the center of each rectangle, keeping a bare 1/2-inch perimeter around it. Place a second rectangle of dough atop the first, using your fingertips to press firmly around the pocket of filling, sealing the dough well on all sides. Press the tines of a fork all around the edge of the rectangle. Repeat with remaining tarts.
Gently place the tarts on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Prick the top of each tart multiple times with a fork; you want to make sure steam can escape, or the tarts will become billowy pillows rather than flat toaster pastries. Refrigerate the tarts (they don’t need to be covered) for 30 minutes, while you preheat your oven to 350°F.
Charming tip from King Arthur: Sprinkle the dough trimmings with cinnamon-sugar; these have nothing to do with your toaster pastries, but it’s a shame to discard them, and they make a wonderful snack. While the tarts are chilling, bake these trimmings for 13 to 15 minutes, till they’re golden brown.
Bake the tarts: Remove the tarts from the fridge, and bake them for 20 to 25 minutes, until they’re a light golden brown. Cool in pan on rack.

 The whole wheat version I used is as follows: Recipe by 100 Days of Real Food at http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/05/30/recipe­whole­wheat­toaster­pastries­a­k­a­pop­tarts/

Whole­Wheat Toaster Pastries (a.k.a. Pop Tarts!) Adapted from The Homemade Pantry Ingredients 2 ¼ cup whole­wheat flour, plus extra for rolling out the dough ½ tsp salt 1 cup cold, unsalted butter (2 sticks) ½ cup water plus ice 1 egg beaten with a splash of water 7 ­ 8 tablespoons jam or jelly (we prefer either homemade jam or an all­fruit spread that’s sweetened with fruit juice concentrate as opposed to sugar or high­fructose corn syrup) Instructions 1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. 2. Put the flour and salt in a food processor with the dough blade and pulse it together briefly. 3. Meanwhile fill a glass measuring cup with ½ cup water and add a few ice cubes to it. 4. Take the cold butter straight out of the fridge and cut it into ½ inch chunks. Sprinkle the pieces of butter on top of the flour in the food processor. Be careful to spread out the butter as opposed to letting it all clump together in one piece. 5. Turn on the food processor and blend until the mixture resembles a crumbly meal. While the food processor is still running add ⅓ cup water through the top. Watch the dough come together and add 2 – 3 more teaspoons of water as needed so a dough ball will form. If some of the dough is in a ball and some is stuck to the sides that is okay…you can fix it with your hands. At this point the dough could be stored in the fridge in plastic wrap for up to 3 days or in the freezer (in a freezer safe container) for up to 6 months. 6. Remove the dough from the food processor and put it on a lightly floured counter or large cutting board. With a rolling pin (and another sprinkling of flour) flatten out the dough to one big rectangle or square that’s no more than a quarter inch thick. Trim any uneven ends and use those to patch other edges as necessary. 7. Using a knife cut out 14 to 16 rectangles of dough. Actually you could make them any shape or size that you want at this point. Lay half of your dough shapes onto the parchment lined baking sheet. Spoon about a tablespoon of jam down the middle of those bottom dough pieces. 8. Top them with matching dough shapes and seal around the edges by pushing down with a fork. Make a few holes in the top with the fork as well. Lastly, brush the tops of the uncooked toaster pastries with the egg wash. 9. Bake at 375 degrees F for 18 – 24 minutes or until golden brown. Cool the cooked pastries on a cooling rack (if you have one) then either eat them right away or store them in the fridge for 3 days or the freezer for several months. They can be eaten cold or reheated. Enjoy! 


My Notes: 
1. The white flour version was much better than the whole wheat, which was very dry. In the future I might try replacing just half a cup of the white flour with whole wheat as Deb recommended. 
2. I made both doughs in the food processor which was amazing!
3. Fillings: We did a raspberry jam, brown sugar cinnamon, chocolate chips, and peanut butter. Overall the jam and the brown sugar were the best fillings-- the other two were rather dry. We did one savory pop tart-- goat cheese and pesto in the whole wheat which was delicious and I think perhaps the whole wheat is better suited to savory tarts. 
4. Overall, working with the dough meant a lot of rest breaks to let the butter firm up while rolling out. Needed space in the fridge and the freezer. Rolling the dough out to the right size and thickness was also tricky-- I definitely had thicker tarts which perhaps contributed to the overall dryness. 
5. I used this icing recipe: 
    Icing
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 Tbsp half and half, plus more as needed
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

However the icing ended up being more of a glaze, and much too thin, and didn't really pool on the top to make a thick layer. I tried adding cocoa power to thicken it up, but that didn't really help. I finally just poured it on two poptarts and put them into the fridge, and they did harden on top after a few hours, but with a lot of side spillage. 
6. I did have leftover cream cheese frosting from the cake/pumpkin sandwich cookies, which were excellent on these. 
7. DH reports that the pastries are best with coffee. I'll take his word for it. 

Thursday, April 23, 2015

The Beginning: Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Recipe: http://www.chow.com/recipes/30456-spiced-pumpkin-oatmeal-cookies

Spiced Pumpkin-Oatmeal Cookies


  • Difficulty: Easy |
  • Total Time: 1 hr 50 mins |
  • Makes: 32 cookies
Pumpkin bread and pumpkin pie may be the most obvious ways to enjoy pumpkin, but the warm spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger found in both translate into a delicious cookie, too. The dough here is made with pumpkin purée, oats, and spices, baked until soft and chewy, and finished with a drizzle of maple syrup glaze. Enjoy these treats as the autumn weather arrives, as well as through the holidays.
Game plan: These cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
This recipe was featured as part of our pumpkin sweets photo gallery.
Watch the CHOW Test Kitchen’s Christine Gallary make these easy pumpkin cookies in an episode of our Easiest Way video series.

Ingredients

For the cookies:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/3 cups rolled oats (not instant)
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon fine salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin purée (not pie filling; about 1 3/4 cups)

For the glaze:

  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
  • 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon milk (not nonfat), plus more as needed
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup

Instructions


For the cookies:
  1. Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange the racks to divide the oven into thirds. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
  2. Whisk the flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and nutmeg in a medium bowl to aerate and break up any lumps; set aside.
  3. Place the butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until lightened in color and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the paddle and the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
  4. Add the egg and vanilla, return the mixer to medium speed, and beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Stop the mixer and scrape down the paddle and the sides of the bowl.
  5. With the mixer on low speed, add half of the reserved flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Add half of the pumpkin and mix until just incorporated. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture and pumpkin.
  6. Drop 8 dough rounds per baking sheet by the scant 1/4 cup, staggering them 2 inches apart on the prepared sheets. Place the remaining dough in the refrigerator.
  7. Place both sheets in the oven and bake for 12 minutes. Rotate the pans from top to bottom and front to back and continue baking until the cookies are golden brown on the bottom and around the edges, about 12 minutes more.
  8. Place the baking sheets on wire racks and let the cookies cool on the sheets for 3 minutes. Using a flat spatula, transfer the cookies to the wire racks to cool completely. Let the baking sheets cool to room temperature and then repeat with the remaining dough (you can use the same parchment paper). When all of the cookies are baked, set the pieces of parchment paper aside.
For the glaze:
  1. Place all of the ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk until evenly combined. (You may need to add more milk by the 1/2 teaspoon if the glaze is too thick to drizzle.)
  2. Place all of the cooled cookies on the reserved parchment sheets. Dip a fork into the glaze and drizzle it over the cookies in a zigzag pattern. Let the cookies sit at room temperature until the glaze has set, about 20 minutes.
MY NOTES:
1. Did not make the glaze. Used this recipe to make pumpkin sandwich cookies to use up leftover cream cheese frosting that I had from a carrot cake I made for the DH's birthday. 
2. Used Libby's Pumpkin instead of the usual TJ's brand, and I have to say that it was a lot smoother instead of solid packed like the Trader Joe's one. 
3. Dough was very sticky. I flattened them a bit after I dropped them onto the parchment paper, and they did spread some, but not a lot. They were more cookie like than most pumpkin cookies I've made, which tend be pretty poofy and cake-like. 

Here's the picture: