Photo: Buttercream Blondie

I’m not a great cook.

It’s actually not that I’m bad; it’s just that my experience is limited to pasta, eggs and cookies – simple dishes that leave little mess and can be created in the confined space of my dorm room kitchen.

My inability to create exciting and delicious meals really only brings me down this time of year – when the air has shifted to that ideal temperature of crisp and breezy, minus the bitter chill that will surely follow.  The aroma of pumpkin-spice-everything seeps from all corners and I nestle up in my cozy fall-themed sweaters and await my trip down south to feast on my grandmother’s famous pumpkin chiffon pie and more turkey than I can imagine.

To tide me (and others like me) over, Buttercream Blondie has offered up these Brown Butter & Pepita Cookies.  To my mind, the thought of any kind of food generously topped with a brown sugar glaze is enough to leave my mouth watering for a while. Yet this particular treat adds an extra layer of fall-themed-umph with the addition of pepitas and edible pumpkin seeds, all foods that perfectly reflect the autumn spirit.

More than that, the recipe doesn’t look impossible.

Could this be the dish that brings my cooking skills to a new level?  The thought of nibbling on these while sipping a pumpkin-spiced latte just might motivate me to add this to my repertoire.

So now, when my parents call to gloat about the loveliness of October in North Carolina, the leaves already changing and the perfect southern breeze, I won’t feel as bad.  No, not bad at all.