Pumpkin Molasses Cookies: Cooking with #CartonSmart this holiday!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Carton Smart. All opinions are 100% mine.

With the holiday season in full swing imagine if everyone made just one small, smart decision a day.   I know that people think, “Can I really make a difference?”  The answer is yes!  If everyone makes a small change, then collectively it adds up to big changes!  Tetra Pak applauds the thousands of small acts of smartness that add up to make a big difference. The Tetra Pak carton packages, designed for environmental friendliness, are one small way to live smarter.

This holiday, Tetra Pak wants to inspire people to make small, smart decisions when cooking for their families and stocking their pantries.  I received a package including Pacific Foods Organic Pumpkin Puree, Pacific Foods Organic Jellied Cranberry Sauce, and Pacific Foods Organic Chicken Simply Stock
from Tetra Pak.  The goal was to swap one of my regular holiday ingredients for one of the items packaged in Tetra Pak cartons.  http://pacificfoods.com/

Well as soon as I saw the pumpkin puree I didn’t have any trouble deciding what to make.  I am the cookie queen and our house is like a bakery around the holidays.  In fact, I’ve made over 40 dozen cookies in December alone!  So I took my favorite pumpkin cookie recipe, used the Pacific Foods Organic Pumpkin Puree, and made these delicious Pumpkin Molasses Cookies.

The cookies were soft, sweet, and full of delicious pumpkin flavor.  I couldn’t tell any difference from the traditional pumpkin I use out of a can and the Tetra Pak cartons only have 1/3 of the packing compared to cans so I felt good about my swap.   Tetra Pak® cartons are made of 70% paper, a renewable resource, from selectively harvested, re-grown trees that are FSC-certified (Forest Stewardship Council).

As for the Jellied Cranberry Sauce and the Chicken Stock, I have holiday ideas for those as well.  The chicken stock is going to be used to make a potato casserole for Christmas dinner.  The cranberry sauce is going to be used in a lemon cranberry Bundt Cake which will be dessert for Christmas Eve.

Pumpkin Molasses Cookies
1 stick butter, softened
3/4 c. sugar
¼ c. brown sugar
1 c. Pacific Foods Organic Pumpkin Puree
¼ c. molasses
2 T. cream cheese
2 t. vanilla
2 ¼ c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. nutmeg
½ t. ginger
½ t. salt

1.   Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2.  In a large bowl beat the butter, sugar, brown sugar, and organic pumpkin puree together.  Mix well.  Add in the molasses, cream cheese, and vanilla and stir until combined.

3.  In a medium bowl mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt.

4.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until well combined.

5.  Drop onto a cookie sheet by tablespoons.  Bake or 10-12 minutes.

6.  Remove from oven and allow to cool for 2 minutes on the cookie sheet.  Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

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How will you be #CartonSmart this holiday?  From small, smart recipes that use ingredients in cartons or “smart” entertaining tips that produce great tasting food with little waste, what will you make this holiday?