pumpkin cookies

last weekend, in a sudden urge of baking creativity, i made pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting. while i've made pumpkin pie, pumpkin cookies were a whole new ball game. the recipe made about 36 cookies, and todd took about 5 days to finish them off. because they turned out so well, i'll share the recipe with you below. you might want to experiment with how much pumpkin and spices you use. i felt a little more pumpkin and either pumpkin pie spice or extra cinnamon is in store for my next batch.

pumpkin cookies
ingredients:

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup shortening
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup canned pumpkin

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Grease cookie sheets.
3. In a large bowl, cream together sugar, egg, shortening, and vanilla.
4. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon; stir into the creamed mixture.
5. Stir in the pumpkin, raisins, and walnuts.
6. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.
7. Bake 10-15 minutes in the preheated oven.
8. Allow to fully cool before you top with frosting (see below).

cream cheese frosting
ingredients:

• 8oz of cream cheese (room temp)
• 1 stick of butter (room temp)
• 2 cups of powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla

directions:

• mix cream cheese and butter together in mixer.
• add in vanilla.
• slowly cream in powdered sugar.
• top cookies with frosting or refridgerate for later.