Soft Pumpkin Cookies

I could probably do a blog entirely devoted to cookies.  They are my favorite thing to bake. These soft pumpkin cookies, a recipe from Cooks.com, are a perfect Fall treat.  They are classic and simple to make, I usually double the recipe, and use one whole can of pumpkin.  I also prefer Libby's canned pumpkin.  I've tried the others, it's not the same.  After making these Soft Pumpkin Cookies, I brought them to a tea and cookies party.  And, one of my friends, Louise, a champion baker, proclaimed.  "These cookies the best pumpkin cookie I've ever had!"  But, if that didn't validate them enough, I gave them to my kids.  Brutally honest cookie lovers.  My youngest son, DEVOURED these cookies, the oldest one said, "these are better than I thought they'd be", and my daughter looked at one and said, "I only eat cereal." 

Soft Pumpkin Cookies
from Cooks.com

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1/2 cup butter (one stick), at room temperature

1 cup canned pureed pumpkin

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line un-rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

2.  In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.  Gently combine with a whisk to aerate the flour mixture, and evenly distribute the spices throughout the dry ingredients.

3.  Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of an electric mixer, beat until mixture is fluffy.  Add pumpkin, egg and vanilla, and continue to beat until mixture is well combined.  Scrape down sides of bowl as needed.  Add flour mixture to butter-pumpkin mixture, one heaping cup at a time, beating well after each addition.

4.  Drop heaping tablespoons of cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets.  Bake one tray at a time, for 15-18 minutes.  Let cool on tray for two minutes then let completely cool on cookie racks.

5.  Make Glaze, and drizzle onto baked and cooled cookies.

Glaze

2 cups sifted powdered sugar

3 Tablespoons milk

1 Tablespoon melted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine all Glaze ingredients into a small bowl, mix until glaze is smooth.

Use a spoon to drizzle glaze over cookies.