Pumpkin Doodles (Pumpkin Snicker-doodles)

There are certain perks that come with having a job. For starters, an income. Not to mention health insurance, paid vacation, employee discounts, etc. Now if only I could find a way to get all of that, without actually having to do the working part. And as I have discovered time and time again, one of the best parts about having a job is having co-workers who will come to my rescue when I go over board and make way too many cookies for one house hold. After eating 10 cookies each, my husband and I realized they needed to be taken away. Luckily, my co-workers are always happy for a treat. I took a gallon sized Ziploc bag full of pumpkin snicker doodles in to work and was happy to see them gone in two days. Thanks for saving me from my own gluttony, guys. What will I do with out you when I leave someday?

These cookies are a mash-up of the traditional snicker-doodle and pumpkin cookie. They are not as dense as a pumpkin cookie and a little more dense than a snicker-doodle. The pumpkin is not overwhelming, so you can still taste all the elements of the original snicker-doodle. They are a little bit fluffier than a normal snicker-doodle, so you may have to squash the dough balls a little bit so they aren’t too thick. These cookies would be amazing sandwiching a squirt of cream cheese frosting, but they are pretty good with just a big glass of milk. Make sure you don’t over bake and store them in an air tight container to keep them soft.

 Ingredients:

• 1 C. butter (2 sticks) softened
• 1 C. white sugar
• 1/2 C. light brown sugar
• 3/4 C. pure pumpkin puree
• 1 large egg
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 3/4 C. all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

Coating:

• 1/2 C. sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• dash of allspice

Directions:

1. Once your butter is softened to room temperature, place it in the bowl of an electric mixer and cream together with both the white and brown sugar. Cream for about 2 or 3 minutes.

2. Add the pumpkin and combine. Add the egg and vanilla and combine.

3. Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a separate bowl. Slowly add the dry mixture into the wet mixture and beat until combined.

4. The pumpkin puree makes the dough very soft, so let it harden up in the fridge for about an hour so it is easier to work with.

5. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Mix together the coating ingredients in a small bowl. Roll a ball a little smaller than a ping pong ball out of the dough. Place the dough ball in the coating mixture and roll around to coat. Place the ball on the cookie sheet and repeat until the pan is full with each cookie about 2 inches apart. Using a cup with a flat, large base, smash the ball down into a disc. The pumpkin makes the cookies pretty fluffy and they cookies don’t really spread much, so squish them to the size you want them. I think they are better when they are bigger and thinner.

6. Cook for 10-12 minutes. I only let them cook 10 minutes and then let them cook a little more on the hot cookie sheet before moving them to a cooling rack. Repeat until all the dough is gone, using the two cookie sheets to keep the flow steady. While one pan is cooking, prepare the other pan.

Recipe adapted from Pennies on a Platter