So Thanksgiving has been successfully tackled, hopefully all your dishes are washed by now, and any reminders of that large meal are probably going to make you hurl, but look, remember how you didn’t get enough dessert? Maybe you were full of wine, turkey, and good company. Maybe you were like me and already thinking about all the tacos you could eat the next day, but that thin little slice of pumpkin pie was good enough at the time. Now, looking back on that meal (which according to my friends, Thanksgiving is the one time of the year calories don’t count), there just weren’t enough sweets.
Do yourself a favor, pull out a few bowls and the measuring cups, start up the oven, and grab that extra can of pumpkin puree you have no idea what you were thinking when you picked up because seriously, who has time to bake a pumpkin pie from scratch for when Sara Lee has done it for you? These are so much more satisfying than a sliver of pumpkin pie and, bonus, travel so very well.
Pumpkin Pie Cookies
(adapted from Joy the Baker)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (optional)
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola, corn, or vegetable oil
1 cup canned pumpkin puree or pumpkin pie filling
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Makes about 24 cookies, but I can’t keep them on my table worth crap so I’d double the recipe.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease two baking sheets.
In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon) and set aside. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until smooth and lightened in color. Add the oil, pumpkin, and vanilla until blended. Slowly add the dry mixture. (If you want, you can add chocolate chips or butterscotch chips at this point.)
Space cookies evenly on a baking sheet using about 1.5 Tablespoons of dough. I wipe my finger around the outside edges to get a more circular cookie.
Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until it passes the toothpick test (about 15-20 min depending on size of cookie.) Cool them on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Make sure they are cooled completely.
I drizzle royal icing on the top of the cookies, it adds a really simple touch but also enhances the flavor. Also, SUGAR!!!