Pumpkin's Debut and Cupcakes to Come...

Fall baking just isn't complete without pumpkin. Pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins.... I love it all. I especially love the aroma of pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg filling the kitchen. So when I came across a recipe for iced pumpkin cookies last week, I knew I had to make them. It was high time for pumpkin to make its first appearance of the season in this lawyer's kitchen! It was freezing in Chicago this weekend, so the hubs and I enjoyed these with a nice hot cup of tea... mmm!

The cookies turned out very moist and cake-like. The icing was a little gooey, but I think that's because I accidentally threw in the whole block of cream cheese - oops! - and made more of a glaze. These were best the first day I made them. After that, I stuck them in the fridge to keep them from getting too sticky.

I can't remember where I got the recipe from - I copied it without copying what fabulous blogger posted it. But here it is... enjoy!

Iced Pumpkin Cookies Recipe
(Adapted from AllRecipes)

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves (**feel free to substitute 3 tsp. pumpkin pie spice instead of the cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves**)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 oz. cream cheese (I used fat free and it was fine)
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugars. Add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by heaping tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then frost or drizzle with cream cheese frosting.

To Make Frosting: With an electric mixer, combine confectioners’ sugar, and cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Feel free to add in an extra teaspoon of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice for flavor! Then you can either frost cookies with a knife, or drizzle with the help of a pastry bag and tip. (Or if you do not have a pastry bag, just fill a Ziplock bag with the frosting, squeeze out the extra air, seal, and then use scissors to snip a tiny hole in one corner, and squeeze carefully onto cookies.)

**In other exciting news, I joined another online baking group! Martha Stewart's Cupcake Club is baking its way through the book Martha Stewart's Cupcakes. I love Martha and I really love cupcakes... so this was a no brainer! Once a month members take turns picking one of the recipes. Then, on the 15th of the month, we all post about it. I joined just in time to make October's cupcake selection... which also includes pumpkin! Watch for it later this week. Happy Columbus Day!