Iced Pumpkin Cookies

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Fall is here!!!  My favorite season just lifts my spirits and makes me so happy.  I love the smells, the food, the decor, the holidays, the cooler weather, and just everything about fall. 
Sorry it has taken so long for me to post!  School started, which for me, means that I started work again as a PE teacher at my kids' elementary school.  It's only 14.5 hours a week but I am still adjusting to getting things at home done and working outside the home.  I absolutely love my job though, and feel so blessed that it is mine! 
These simple, pumpkin cookies are just perfect for this time of year.  When my son ate one he said, "Mom these taste like Halloween!" It was so cute! 

ICED PUMPKIN COOKIES

Ingredients:
2 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 C white sugar
1 C canned pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
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2 C confectioner's sugar
3 TB milk
1 TB melted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 C butter and white sugar.  Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 tsp vanilla to butter mixture, beat until creamy.  Mix in dry ingredients.  Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls. 

Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven or until edges are slightly browned.  

For the glaze, combine confectioner's sugar, milk, 1 TB melted butter, and 1 tsp vanilla.  Add milk as needed to achieve drizzling consistency.

Once cookies are mostly cooled, drizzle the icing over them with a fork. 

Makes 3 dozen.

Pumpkin Doughnuts

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I love fall!  I feel like I've missed out on so much of it, though, because of my surgery.  That was my time to bake not recover from an appendectomy!  I had planned a fall desserts class to teach for my church's women's group a couple of months ago.  There was no way I was going to let this darn surgery spoil my fun of doing it so I did it anyway and it was so much fun.  I knew most of what I was going to make for it but wanted to do one more thing that was different using pumpkin.  I found these and they were perfect!  I am a doughnut lover.  I mean I will never turn down a doughnut!  Don't be intimidated by making your own doughnuts.  These are pretty easy in my opinion.  You just make the dough, chill it for a few hours, roll it out, cut your circles and holes, fry, then glaze.  Not too much right?  :)  They are worth it and I hope you enjoy them as much as my family did!  If you want to see a step by step version with pictures just click on the link under the title below.  My version is slightly different only because I used a glaze instead of a dusting of powdered sugar.

PUMPKIN DOUGHNUTS
http://pinchmysalt.com/2009/10/29/pumpkin-doughnuts/#more-3901

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon molasses
1 cup canned pure pumpkin
Canola Oil (for deep-frying)

GLAZE:
1/3 cup butter
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 tablespoons hot water or as needed

Glaze instructions: Melt butter in a saucepan. Whisk in sugar, hot water, then vanilla. Keep whisking over med-low heat until there are no clumps in the sugar. Let cool a little before dipping the donuts in.

1. Whisk first 9 ingredients (flour through cardamom) in a medium bowl to blend well; set aside.

2. Using an electric hand mixer or stand mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until well blended (mixture will be a bit grainy). Beat in egg, then yolks, then vanilla. Gradually beat in buttermilk and molasses, then beat in pumpkin, in four additions.

3. Fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture in 4 additions, blending gently after each. Cover the bowl and chill in the refrigerator for at least three hours.

4. Lightly flour two baking sheets. When dough is well-chilled, lightly flour a work surface. Starting with about 1/3 of dough, gently press it out to a round that is 1/2- to 2/3-inch thick. Using a 2 1/2-inch-diameter round cutter, cut out dough rounds. Using 1-inch-diameter round cutter, cut out center of each dough round to make doughnuts and doughnut holes. Arrange doughnuts and holes on the baking sheets as you go. Gather dough scraps. Press out dough and cut out more dough rounds until all dough is used. If dough is very sticky, dip the round cutters into flour before cutting each doughnut.

5. Line a couple of baking sheets with paper towels to drain doughnuts. Also, set out a couple of wire racks to place the doughnuts on after glazing. Pour oil into large deep skillet or dutch oven to a depth of 1 1/2 inches. Attach a deep-fry thermometer to the side of the pot and heat oil to 355°F to 365°F. Fry doughnut holes in 2 batches until golden brown, turning occasionally, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain. Fry doughnuts, 3 or 4 at a time, until golden brown, adjusting heat to maintain temperature, about 1 minute per side. Using a slotted spoon, transfer doughnuts to paper towels to drain. While doughnuts are still warm dip tops in glaze then set on wire racks to drain off excess.

Note: If you don’t have cardamom or don’t want to spend the money (it’s a little pricey), just omit it. It does add great flavor but they are still very good without it.

Also, I didn't have a doughnut cutter so I used a biscuit cutter then a water bottle that I cut the main body off of for the holes (does that make sense?).