Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

One of my dear friends, Melissa, looked at my blog recently trying to find a pumpkin cookie recipe. Finding none, I told her I would try and come up with one! I am ALWAYS up for a baking challenge, so I decided to make pumpkin snickerdoodles! My absolute favorite "trio," of spices (cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger) are in these tasty "gems!" Shortly before I headed over to a disability ministry art event at Melissa's art gallery Sunday a week ago, I whipped up a few dozen cookies, thinking there would be at least a few left over for her to enjoy later with her husband. Well, guess how many were left. ONE!!! You know what that means. Well, it actually means three things, the participants at the art event liked them, since I didn't even get a picture of my first platter of cookies, I had to make some more and I owe Melissa a platter of cookies!

 Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
3/4 cup packed pumpkin
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 3/4 cups white flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger

Topping

1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger

In a large bowl, put the butter and white sugar and cream until smooth by hand with a large spoon or with electric mixer. Next, add the light brown sugar, pumpkin, egg and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined. Lastly, add the white flour, baking powder, salt, ground cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Mix by hand with large spoon until it turns into a soft batter. Don't over mix. Cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge for a minimum of two hours. When ready to make, preheat oven to 375 degrees and cover a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Roll the batter into four dozen balls the same size (a little smaller than a golf ball) and set aside. In a small bowl, put the topping ingredients - white sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Using a small spoon, mix until combined. Roll each ball into the sugar topping mixture, coating the entire ball. Place a dozen at a time on the cookie sheet and using the bottom of a drinking glass, first put in the sugar topping mixture and then press the ball. Bake for 12 minutes and then remove to wire rack immediately to continue to cool.  Store covered at room temperature for up to one week. Side note: parchment paper is my new favorite baking item for cookies. If a recipe calls for ungreased cookie sheets, I use parchment paper. I bought the Kroger "house," brand a while back and I still have several sheets and no "stuck" cookies!!

Gingerbread Cookies

When Dominic and I made this gingerbread cookie batter up recently, we had high hopes that we would be making gingerbread men. Well, by the time the batter chilled in the fridge, we had dinner and then Dominic had his nightly bath, it was 9:30 p.m.! Since I had promised him that we would make gingerbread men, and I don't like to break a promise, I quickly decided they would become gingerbread cookies. I rolled them into balls and then put red sugar on one plate and green sugar on another plate, handed Dominic a glass and let him press down on each cookie. In less than 15 minutes, they were done! A few days later, I made up the rest of the cookie dough and then headed out to make two "deliveries." I felt a bit like a holiday "elf." My first delivery was to a local marketing company that publish a magazine that has featured my recipes for several months. The second delivery was to a friend of mine who will be helping me with a project for the disability ministry. Later, she told me her husband said, "that's what a molasses cookie is supposed to be like, both the flavor and the consistency were just what it should be - not too soft and not too crisp!" Cool, that made my day!

Ingredients

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups white flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 teaspoons ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

In large bowl, put the butter and light brown sugar. Cream by hand with large spoon or use an electric mixer. Add the molasses, egg and vanilla extract. Set aside. In medium bowl, put the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Mix with large spoon and then gradually add to the mixture in the large bowl. Combine well and then cover with plastic wrap. Chill in fridge a minimum of three hours. When ready to bake, roll into 4 1/2 dozen equal sized balls. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place a dozen balls at a time onto ungreased cookie sheets. If desired, press the bottom of a drinking glass into colored sugar and then press gently. Bake for 12 minutes or until the bottoms of the cookies are starting to turn brown. Remove to wire rack to cool. Store covered at room temperature.

Snickerdoodles

My love of cinnamon has been passed down to Lauren and Dominic (guess it's in the genes).  When you think of a cookie that has cinnamon, what is one of the first cookies you think of?  Snickerdoodles? These smelled so good yesterday when they were baking.  That's what I love about cinnamon - it makes your whole house smell good :)  Lauren had one of her good friends over for a bit after school yesterday and the both of them, plus Dominic were my "taste testers." I sent some cookies home with Lauren's friend and gave a few to Dominic's bus driver this morning. There's something about the word "snickerdoodle" that puts a smile on a person's face.  Since St. Patrick's Day is Sunday, I sprinkled a little green sugar on top of the cookies before baking - just to be a little festive!

Ingredients for Cookie Batter:

2 3/4 cups white flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs

Sugar/Cinnamon Mixture:

1 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

In a medium bowl, combine flour, soda and nutmeg with large spoon. Set aside.  In large bowl, put butter, vanilla extract, light brown sugar and white sugar.  Beat with mixer or by hand until smooth.  Add the eggs and then stir in the flour, soda and nutmeg.  Combine well and then cover with plastic wrap and chill in fridge at least one hour. If you roll the cookies about the size below, you should be able to get about 3 1/2 dozen out of the batter.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In small bowl, put the sugar and cinnamon and mix well with small spoon.  Roll the dough balls in the sugar/cinnamon mixture and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake for 12 minutes, remove from oven, let cool for 5 minutes and then transfer to wire rack.