Halloween Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Maple Cinnamon Frosting

Happy Halloween! I finally got around to making some Halloween treats today even though they weren't really what I had in mind. With work and preparing for my fall festival this weekend, I didn't really have time to make anything too complicated. However, these were really really good (even though my decorating kinda sucks here). I made some pumpkin cookies a few weeks ago that I didn't care for but these were much better. And there are no artifical preservatives, flavors, or even colors. I admit that I do use food coloring/icing coloring when I make some of my desserts. It's almost impossible not to especially when making a dessert or cake to match a specific color or theme. But, I make everything from scrach and use real butter, real vanilla, cage free eggs and unbleached flour. I also use organic sugar when I can (it's pretty expensive so I use regular white sugar some of the time). And I stay away from shortening. I actually did find an organic brand made from palm oil and have used that a few times, but mainly stick with butter. Although these cookies definitely aren't healthy, I feel better that I am not eating cookies made from a box full of chemicals.  Anyways, hope everyone has a great Halloween tomorrow!

Ingredients
Cookies
1 3/4 cup unbleach all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp baking powder 

3/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or use a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, etc.)

6 Tbsp unsalted butter

1 1/8 cups (packed) light brown sugar 

1 eggs

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 cup evaporated milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

 

Frosting
1 (8oz) pgk cream cheese
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (just use the rest of the can from what you used for the cookies)
1 Tbsp pure maple syrup
dash of cinnamon
3-4 cups powdered sugar

Directions
1. Pre-heat oven to 375. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2.Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice
3.Cream the butter and sugar then add in the egg and mix well
4. Add in the pumpkin, evaporated milk, and vanilla until well mixed
5.Slowly add in the flour mixture
6.Put the dough into a large piping bag (or ziplock bag if you do'nt have decorating bags and cut of the tip) and pipe 2 1/2 inch rounds that are about 1/2 inch thick.
7.Bake for about 12 mins or until the tops of the cookies spring back when touched.

For icing, cream the cream cheese and pumpkin. Add in the maple syrup and cinnamon. Slowly add in the powdered sugar to desired sweetness. This icing will be a little runny because of the pumpkin.

To decorate the cookies, I just melted some chocolate chips and piped on with a decorating bag with a small tip.



Recipe source: adapted from myrecipes.com

So many things to be thankful for!

I am so thankful that I was able to come to my parents house for a few days and spend time with my family.  We've had such a wonderful time!  I'm lucky to have such great parents and relatives.  I'm thankful that we were able to make and share such a delicious Thanksgiving dinner. Everything was so good! I forgot to take pictures of our amazing dinner, but at least I got some of the desserts!  I helped with different dishes and made a pumpkin cheesecake. We also had my Grandmas's famous pineapple squares and banana pudding, along with some mini pumpkin pies that my cousin's girlfriend's mom made. It was such a great day. Hope everyone else had as great a Thanksgiving as I did!

                      Cheesecake Factory Pumpkin Cheesecake

Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham crumbs
5 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 Tbsp. sugar
Filling:
3- 8oz.pkgs. cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup canned pumpkin
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. allspice
Whipped Cream

Mix crust ingredients together, just till coated and crumbly. Press onto the bottom and 2/3 up the sides of an 8" springform pan. Bake for 5 min. at 350. Set aside.

Combine cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl, mix until smooth with an electric mixer. add pumpkin eggs, and spices, beat till smooth and creamy. Pour into the crust. Bake for 60-70 min. or till the top turns a bit darker. Remove from oven and allow to come to room temperature, then refrigerate. After it has thoroughly chilled, remove the pan sides and cut. Serve with whipped cream.

I made whipcream using 1 cup of whipping cream, some powdered sugar (a few tablespoons) and a little bit of vanilla. I forgot my decorating tools so I improvised by putting the whipped cream in a ziplock bag and cutting a hole in one of the corners. I also sprinkled chopped pecans and graham cracker crumbs on the top. 

Recipe source: hubpages.com-orginally posted to recipelink.com by Elly,Ohio. 

"Heaven on a plate"- Pumpkin Pie Crunch

I love all things pumpkin. And this dessert is no exception.  It's been a holiday family favorite for many years and it's really easy to make! I made it for our work Thanksgiving lunch last week and according to one of my co-workers, it was "heaven on a plate." The pecans are the most expensive ingredient but well worth it!

Combine in a large bowl:
1 can (16 oz) pumpkin-(I've only ever seen 15 oz and that works fine)
1 can evaporated milk (12 oz)
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/8 tsp salt

Pour into greased 9x13 dish. Sprinkle with 1 box of Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe yellow cake mix. Sprinkle with 1 cup of chopped pecans. Drizzle with 1 cup of melted butter.  Bake at 50-55 minutes at 350 degrees or until golden brown. Served with whipped topping. Refridgerate leftovers.

Note: I'm not a calorie counter. But if you are, this is probably like 80% of your daily limit.  But it's the holidays and it's ok to indulge a little..or maybe a lot :) 



Recipe source: Judy Roche of Hendersonville, TN (a lady my mom knew through her work)