Mmmmm....Pumpkin Cookies!

It is that time of year again. Time for some baked pumpkin goodies! I always make the obligatory pumpkin pie, as it is Josh's favorite. I have never been a fan of pumpkin pie mysef (yes, probably the only pie I won't eat), so last year I decided to try a new recipe (courtesy www.realsimple.com) for pumpkin cookies. I thought they would be easier (read: less messy) for Ethan to snack on and they looked pretty tasty in the picture, so I thought, why not?

They ended up being super tasty (yep, even I liked them) and a huge hit with Ethan, so I decided to make them again this year, for Halloween. My family was visiting for the weekend, so I had a special helper, my nephew, Jacob, help me make them this time!

We gathered all of our ingredients....

9 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups (1 can) canned pumpkin puree

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

3 large eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Then we started following the directions...

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until smooth. Add the pumpkin, vanilla, and egg and beat until combined.
3. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in a medium bowl. Slowly add the flour mixture to the sugar and butter and beat on medium-low speed until fully incorporated.
4. Spoon heaping tablespoons of the mixture 2 inches apart onto parchment- or foil-lined baking sheets. Bake until puffed and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes.

Jacob was such a good helper! I measured the ingredients for him, then he added everything to the mixer for me. :)

As you can see, the finished product was excellent!

Jacob was very proud of how well he did and he really, really liked the cookies too! :)

To complete our pumpkin weekend, I made the kids some orange, Jack-o-lantern pancakes on Halloween morning. Yum, yum!! :)