Pumpkin Cookies

Summer is officially over. If you live in Montana, you are preparing for crisp breezes, that 'fall-is-here' chill in the air, leaves falling off the trees, and you're already planning on how to stuff eight layers underneath your child's Halloween costume. If I were still in Montana, I'd be watching all the back-to-schoolers buy their textbooks, be sipping a hot chai latte, and maybe even watching the snow start to cover the mountain peaks.

The other day, the air here felt cool, there were clouds in the sky, and you almost (almost) needed to wear jeans or a light jacket. I felt like I was back home, I felt like it should be fall. Much to my dismay, I was not back at home, nor is fall anywhere close to appearing here in Florida (maybe around January?) My overly-anxious anticipation for fall drove me to run to the store, get all the ingredients for a Thanksgivingy snack, and to bake and indulge in them immediately: Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Some of you may remember these cookies. They have already made two appearances at CAFB! The recipe can be found in the CAFB Spouses Thanksgiving cookbook that was presented at the fall cookout we did! While this was a show-stopper to say the least, their debut came in the form of a challenge with Mama Sue: who can make the better pumpkin cookies. She was the 'seasoned pro' and I was the 'newb', and although we had many offers from those who wanted to judge the competition, we both just claimed to be the winners. For the record- mine won, sorry mom.

Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients:
* 1 cup shortening
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 cup brown sugar
* 15 oz can pumpkin
* 2 eggs
* 4 cups flour
* 2 teasp. baking soda
* 2 teasp. baking powder
* 2 teasp. vanilla
* 1 teasp. salt
* 2 teasp. cinnamon
* 1/2 teasp. cloves
* 1 teasp. nutmeg

Directions

* Combine wet ingredients first (shortening, pumpkin, eggs) in mixer. Add sugars (white and brown). Add spices. Add flour last.
* Drop cookies (I use a tblspn to keep them consistent in size), Bake them for 12 minutes at 350.
* Let cookies cool on baking racks

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:
* 4 oz cream cheese
* 1/2 cup unsalted butter
* 2 teasp. vanilla
* 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
* 1/2 teasp. lemon juice (and yes, you need this- it MAKES the frosting!)

Frost cooled cookies. Throw them in the fridge- they are just as amazing (if not more) chilled :) Mmm!