Pumpkin Cookies

So, I have a little tradition I started for myself. Every October (because that's when canned pumpkin becomes easily available), I make pumpkin cookies. Growing up, these were and are a Kline family favorite. My mom has to make at least a double or triple batch when she makes them or else they don't last longer than a few hours after she makes them.

So, I felt that I should share this fantastic family recipe (that was given to us by the lovely Carol Fowler) so that everyone can enjoy the new fall season :)

Iced Pumpkin Cookies

Cookie Ingredients:

3/4 cup shortening

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp baking powder

2 cups canned pumpkin

Icing Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup milk

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

confectioner's sugar (1 whole box)

1. For Cookies: Cream shortening, sugar and 1 cup brown sugar together. - The mixture just becomes kind of evenly crumbly.

2. Sift the next 6 ingredients together (salt, flour, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, and baking powder). Add the dry mixture to the creamed mixture, alternating with canned pumpkin. Beat well after each addition. - I add a little more pumpkin at first just to get it creamier, then I start adding more flour mixture. This gets really thick, so definitely mix really well adter each addition.

3. Drop by spoonfuls onto lightly greased cookie sheet and bake for 12 minutes at 350 degreed F. - Make them as round as possible. These cookies don't melt and they don't rise very much, so they will look the same after they are baked, just darker.

4. For Icing: Mix butter, milk, and 1/3 cup brown sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and remove from heat.

5. Stir in vanilla. Let cool slightly then add powdered sugar a bit at a time. Keep adding until icing is nice and thick. - It seems like a lot, but it really does take a whole box of powdered sugar. If you are using powdered sugar that comes from a bag, just keep adding until it's the consistency of thick icing.

6. Drop balls of warm icing onto cookies. - Be really careful not to put too much. The icing melts over the cookie like a glaze. If you want to be able to control the icing a little better, I let the icing cool and I put them on the cookies while they are warm. This makes the icing melt a little slower and it doesn't go all over the place. Just for comparison, I put a nickel sized ball on a 2 inch cookie.

Sorry to cover the recipe with all that red, but hopefully it makes the process a little smoother the first time you make them. This is the wisdom I have acquired over years of making these.

I got a little fancy this time and tried them out as muffins, and they taste great :)

Just as a side note: I would advise against being healthier and foregoing the icing unless you really like the flavor of pumpkin. They are kind of boring without the icing.

So, I hope you enjoy these as much as we do :)