Iced Pumpkin Cookies

I really love Fall.  Fall makes me wish I lived in a picturesque suburb or something, where I have leaves all over my backyard.  Fall makes me count down to every holiday till New Year's.  Fall makes me want to be with family or lets me think of when I'm old enough to have my own. Fall makes want a Hallmark card style life.  Fall makes me bake with cinnamon and pumpkin...

Iced Pumpkin Cookies adapted from allrecipes.com

makes about 3 dozen Perfect Puffy Pumpkin Pillows


Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used half AP and half whole wheat AP, no one notices that way)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup canned pumpkin 
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•  
• Glaze:
• I used about three cups of confectioner's sugar and 3 tablespoons of milk 

Do this: 

Preheat the over to 350 degrees

Combine all the dry stuff, so ingredients 1-6

Then cream together the butter and sugar, add pumpkin&egg&vanilla and beat until creamy

Slowly add the dry stuff 

Drop of cookie sheet in tablespoon fulls, the batter/dough is quite sticky and the amount of flour in this recipe lets these goodies be really cake-y and still very moist 

Bake for 15 minutes. 

Let cool then drizzle glaze on top.

then find lots of friends to come over and eat them because they are very addictive! (though not too bad for you, at 2 WW points each). 

These cookies were made in a last minute plan not to leave my house and to make my friends come to me instead - can't leave when the oven is on! 

I was never expecting them to be so darn delicious. 

My mother is the only one who takes it seriously when I ask for criticism on my cooking, I believe these are her new favorite cookies. 

My sister is ten years old, the next morning I just woke up and was coming down the stairs and I see her with two of these cookies on her place, microwaving them till they were warm for her morning snack.  I thought it was the funniest thing, girl has good taste. 

Pumpkin Chip Bread with a Strudel Topping and Spiced Glaze

I made this bread a week ago, I needed to get a start on Fall baking.  I had some competition in the kitchen with this Yankee Candle Spice Cake candle, you probably didn't even notice the delicious smell from the oven over the delicious smell on the window sill.  Well, this Pumpkin bread was yummy (though I think I baked it a bit too long and it could have been sweeter according to my Mother).

Pumpkin Chip Bread with a Strudel Topping and Spiced Glaze

Makes 1 8x4 loaf 

Pumpkin Bread adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

Ingredients:

1 1/2 + 1/6 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 + 1/3 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 cup (15 ounces) canned pumpkin
1/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Strudel Topping adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 
  
• Pretty much combine all the ingredients in a small bowl

Spiced Glaze adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

Ingredients:

1 heaping cup of powdered sugar

3 tablespoons of milk

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice

Pretty much whisk all these together in another bowl

Bake the bread!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease the loaf pan

Combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg)

Meanwhile beat together the wet

First beat together the sugar and oil, then add eggs, water, and vanilla

Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet until completely combined

then fold in the chocolate chips

Pour into loaf pan and top with the strudel mixture 

Bake for about an hour

Let cool and top with Spiced Glaze

Enjoy

p.s. have I ever mentioned that I HATE nutmeg, I got over it and used it here though.

p.p.s. I have the worst lighting ever in my kitchen, the food never looks as good in the picture.