I Have A Confession To Make...

I'm married to a freak.




A pumpkin freak.


Not just a fan, E's an actual fanatic.

Between the end of September and the beginning of December, he gobbles up anything pumpkin, and loves every minute of it! Before we met, I hadn't even so much as tasted a pumpkin pie, but now? He's converted me. I'm not head over heels like he is, but I've enjoyed most of what I've tried, both savory and sweet.

We went to Cincinnati for Halloween to attend my friend Laurie's party. She's a fabulous cook herself, and made tons of food, mostly vegetarian, all of which delish. My mother taught me to never go to someone's home for the first time empty-handed, so I offered to bake some cookies. Seeing as Halloween is pumpkin-tastic, these seemed perfect.




OMG - these are fabulous. The cookies are great on their own, cake-like and with a great pumpkin flavour, but add the frosting, and they're divine. I could easily eat these every day, breakfast, lunch and dinner! They were a huge hit at the party - we were eight, and I brought 32. There was one left by the end of the night.

I didn't make any changes other than substituting the cinnamon for pumpkin pie spice, omitting (forgetting!) the salt and subbing the butter for Smart Balance. However, should you choose to use Splenda and/or whole wheat flour, I think they'd still come out great.

Pumpkin Cookies
from The Good Apple
makes 32 cookies

• 1 cup butter (2 sticks)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 cup of canned pumpkin
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars together.
3. Add in the pumpkin, egg and vanilla, and mix until combined
4. Add remaining ingredients, and mix until smooth and fluffy.
5. Drop by spoonfuls onto a baking sheet, and bake for 10-12 minutes.
6. Remove from oven, and transfer cookies to a wire rack, and allow to cool completely.

Brown Butter Frosting
makes enough to ice about 50 cookies

• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 cups powdered sugar

1. Over medium heat, boil the butter and sugar together until thickened and smooth (about 2 minutes).
2. Allow mixture to cool completely, and whisk in the milk.
3. Transfer to a small mixing bowl, and add in the sugar, beating with a hand mixer to your desired consistency.
4. Spread onto cookies, and enjoy!

Since these are so easy to put together, with ingredients that seem to always be hanging around in my kitchen, I'm sharing them with Jenn of Frugal Upstate for her Frugal Thanksgiving Mini Series.