Ever since my dad gave me the The Great Minnesota Cookie Book for Christmas years ago, I’ve wanted an excuse to bake these pumpkin cookies from Amy and Judy Karlen. I bookmarked the page my first time through the book, but thought that Christmas was not the time for pumpkin cookies. And, every year since, I’ve said the same thing.
This week, we had a rough day at work, and I knew cookies were just the thing to cheer people up. When I pulled out my trusty cookbook, I again came across the pumpkin cookies recipe, except this time, it was November and prime pumpkin season!
Like the chocolate chip cookies I made the same day, I had no intention of blogging about these, so I don’t have photos to do them justice, but trust me when I say they are as wonderful as I hoped they would be all these years – nicely spiced, cakey, but not too cakey, and not overly moist the way some pumpkin baked goods tend to be. Their texture reminds me of a Lofthouse cookie in the best possible way.
And, much to my surprise and dismay, as it turns out, I think they’d be great at Christmastime!
Pumpkin Cookies
Print recipe | From book | The Great Minnesota Cookie Book |
Ingredients
Cookies
- 3 1/2 cups All-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons Baking soda
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 2 teaspoons Ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Grated nutmeg (freshly grated)
- 1 teaspoon Ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoons Ground cloves
- 1 cup Shortening
- 2 cups Granulated sugar
- 2 Eggs (large)
- 1 cup Pumpkin puree
Icing
- 5 tablespoons Brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons Salted butter
- 5 tablespoons Milk
- 1 cup Powdered sugar
Directions
| Cookies | |
| Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper. | |
| In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat shortening and granulated sugar until creamy, about 1 minute on medium. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add pumpkin puree and beat until thoroughly combined. Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture gradually, then mix until just combined. | |
| Using a cookie scoop, drop dough 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes - do not overbake. Remove cookies from oven, and allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. | |
| Icing | |
| Combine brown sugar, butter, and milk in a small saucepan. Heat over medium and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, set aside, and allow to cool completely. Whisk in the powdered sugar until icing reaches desired consistency, adding more if needed. Ice cookies to preference and taste. | |
