Pumpkin crack-um, I mean, cookies

Well, it seems I am off to a bit of a roll doesn't it?  Two in a row.  Like I said yesterday, we didn't stop baking, we just stopped writing about it and I feel like I have so many recipes and pictures to share that I need to start getting them out of my head and onto something more permanent like cyberspace.

When I was growing up, a sure sign of fall was the smell of pumpkin anything in the house.  My mom's specialty was the coveted puffy pumpkin cookies, you know the kind that are like a cake/scone without being too sweet?  I was in heaven whenever those were around and this year I knew I had to make them.

Pumpkin cookies
½ Cup butter
1 Cup sugar
½ Cup brown sugar
2 eggs- room temperature
1 small can pumpkin
2 ½ Cups flour
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cream butter and sugars in a stand or electric mixer until creamy. Slowly add eggs and pumpkin, mixing until well combined.

Place flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Slowly add to wet mixture on low speed until just combined. With a cookie scoop, drop onto parchment or silpat lined baking sheet.

Bake for 11-13 minutes. Let cool completely.

To frost or not frost
I am obsesses with cream cheese frosting and this is how you make it, although, they are just as good unfrosted.

8oz package cream cheese, softened
3 Tablespoons butter, softened
2 ¼ Cups powdered sugar
1 vanilla bean scraped of its' seeds
Whisk cream cheese and butters in a Kitchen Aid mixer. Slowly stir in powdered sugar(with the mixer off people!) until smooth. Add in vanilla bean, mix for an additional 30 seconds.

Frost cooled cookies and sprinkle with candied lemon or orange peel or candy pumpkins- both are adorable.

Makes 3 dozen cookies

-Jenny