Melt-in-your-mouth Pumpkin Cookies

[Lady Sarah]

I whipped up a batch of these last night and they are TO-DIE-FOR. Srsly.


2 cups butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 15oz can pumpkin
4 cups all purpose flour

* Preheat oven to 350
* In large bowl, beat butter with mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds or until creamy and 'whipped'. Add granulated sugar, baking power & soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. (I mixed all these together in one bowl and slowly added it all at once.) Beat until combined, scraping bowl occasionally.
* Add eggs, and vanilla, beat until combined.
* Beat in pumpkin
* Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the remaining flour. (I used the big Kitchenaid stand mixer, so I didn't need a wooden spoon. The dough comes out much like a mixture between a bread dough and a cookie dough.)
* Drop dough by heaping teaspoons 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookies sheet. I lined mine with parchment paper. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until tops are set. Let cool on sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.


Frosting:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup milk or half & half
1 tsp vanilla
2 3/4 cup powdered sugar

* Heat butter and brown sugar in small saucepan until melted and smooth.
* Stir in vanilla and milk. Transfer to a medium bowl and get out your hand held mixer. Trust me, you'll need it to get the frosting smooth.
* Beat in powdered sugar until smooth and it looks like maple candy.
* Spread on cookies while still warm to get a smooth glazed look, or, wait until completely cool and it looks like store-bought in a can to get the thicker application.

* Caution - the frosting is stiffer than the cookies, even when warm. The cookies are very soft and moist, very cakey in texture. Be careful when pulling them off of the sheet and frosting.

[Thistle]

They look yummy, but OMG the butter!

[Lady Sarah]

yes, but these cookies are rich enough that you really can't eat a whole lot. I had three (I test one cookie off of each sheet I put in the oven... Quality Control, y'know ) and that was all I could eat before I started feeling a little queasy from the richness.