Pumpkin Cookie Recipe

 
I love everything there is about Autumn.  The crisp cooler days, the changing colors of the leaves and of course . . . the wonderful holidays that come at this time of year.

I am always looking for new recipes to try . . . especially desserts!  This pumpkin cookie recipe originally came from Allrecipes and it quickly became a new holiday favorite. 

These cookies are delicious plain but you could add raisins (our favorite) or dried cranberries to the batter.  You could also dress it up with cream cheese frosting.

As with most of my cookie recipes, I use a cookie scoop to measure and dispense the dough onto the baking sheet.  This ensures all the cookies are the same size and bake evenly.

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
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 cup raisins (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F. 

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup butter and white sugar. 

Add pumpkin, egg and vanilla to butter mixture and beat until creamy. 

Mix in dry ingredients. 

Using a cookie scoop or spoon, drop batter onto cookie sheet.  Size should be about one tablespoon.

Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven.  Let cookies stand on baking sheet for about five minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

If desired, pipe cream cheese frosting onto cookies once cooled before serving.

This recipe makes approximately 36 cookies per batch.