Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Icing

 Oh, how I love it when I nail a new recipe on the first try. Yes, these babies are sure to be a favorite. I love a soft cookie and the spices of the cookie are perfectly complimented by the cream cheese icing. Simple to make, and delicious to eat. It does not get any better then that.

Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Icing

• 1 box Duncan Hines Spice cake mix
• 1 cup of canned pumpkin 
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• parchment paper
• cookie dough dropper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile with a electric mixer, cream together butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and pumpkin, then add the egg. Slowly add the cake mix blending on low and mix well for 2-3 minutes or until well blended.

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and drop cookie dough onto paper evenly spacing a dozen cookies per sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 14 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit on cookie sheet for 3 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool.

Once cookies have completely cooled it is time to prepare icing.

Cream Cheese Icing

• 4 oz cream cheese 1/3 less fat, softened
• 8 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

With a electric mixer cream together butter and cream cheese, add vanilla. Slowly add powered sugar over low speed and raise once it is blended. Whip for about 3 minutes over med/high speed. Spread a generous amount of icing onto cookies and refrigerate single layer to harden the icing. Once it is hard enough place in a air tight container with wax paper separating the layers. Makes 3 dozen.

Spicy Pumpkin Bars

Fall is one of my favorite seasons. I always look forward to the leaves changing colors, the crispness of the air and the smell of fall. Also I always have to get my Spicy Pumpkin Bar fix. My mind always craves these every Fall. So I will share this decades old recipe with you so you too may get your pumpkin fix. Happy Fall to you.

Spicy Pumpkin Bars

• 1/2 cup Crisco
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 tsp. ginger
• 1 tsp. allspice
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 15 oz can pumpkin

You will need 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 x 1 1/8 inch a jelly roll pan for this recipe. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With a electric mixer blend sugars and Crisco together well, then add the eggs. Sift together dry ingredients then slowly add to sugar and Crisco mixture, blend well. Add pumpkin and mix until all is blended. Grease the jelly roll pan and spread the stiff batter evenly into pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Cream Cheese Icing

• 4 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
• 1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

With a electric mixer cream together cream cheese and butter, then add vanilla extract and slowly add powdered sugar. Once sugar has been mixed in well blend well at a high speed. Frost cake once it has cooled completely. Refrigerate until serving time.