Iced Pumpkin Cookies

Nothing screams fall quite like pumpkin. Around early September the food blogosphere goes wild over pumpkin goodies. Add to it that this year there is a slight pumpkin shortage (actually quite severe in some areas) and pumpkin has become all the rage. I honestly wasn't interested in purchasing any pumpkin just yet but after hearing about the shortage I thought I should investigate my local stores to see if it was affecting my area. Surprisingly it was! I quickly added to the hysteria by buying the last two cans even though I didn't have any immediate need for them. It reminded me of when people go and buy milk and bread because the news is forecasting 2 inches of snow- unnecessary hype, but hey- even the strong fall weak at times.

These little delicious pumpkin cookies were on the cookie platters I made for my dad and uncles party. They were delicious and I was able to make them using just the ingredients I had on hand (big bonus!) I didn't have any ground clove so I just added extra cinnamon and they were so tasty. The texture was cakey and soft. I highly recommend this recipe.

Source: All Recipes

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

2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.
In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonful.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then drizzle glaze with fork or squeeze bottle.

To Make Glaze: Combine confectioners' sugar, milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add milk as needed, to achieve drizzling consistency.