Pumpkin: A Little Taste of Fall

October is here! Over the past week I've traded in my sun dresses for leggings, boots and sweaters. My umbrella has become a permanent resident inside my purse and my cravings for pumpkin everything have begun. October is by far my most favourite month. I may flirt with Springtime, and have a serious crush on the Summer but my heart will always lay with Fall.

Since this weekend marked the beginning of October, and baked goods for a car ride trip were requested (*cough* demanded *cough*), I figured now was as good a time as any to crack open that pureed pumpkin and get baking.

As it so happens I used to HATE pumpkin. I loved buying them, scooping out the insides and carving a face into them. But I just didn't like to eat them. I don't know if it was the spices most people used or the pumpkin itself, I was having nothing to do with it! I do, however, have a rule for myself when it comes to food. Every year or two I will force myself to try out a food that I have previously disliked. Weather it is in a dish I have had before or a new preparation I have to try it.

This little experimentation has actually allowed me to learn to enjoy some things that I have previously disliked. I've done it with brussel sprouts, ginger (albeit in very small doses) and even oatmeal. Granted with the oatmeal I simply had to get past the texture by forcing myself to eat it every day for 2 weeks until I loved it. But I digress.

It so happens that last year around this time I volunteered to cook a Thanksgiving dinner at my parents house. One thing that my Father demanded was pumpkin pie. Naturally I did not want to make one, but decided to give it a shot anyways. I ended up making a slightly less traditional version of it and made myself try at least one bite. Well turns out that I liked it and it sent me off onto a pumpkin baking spree for the rest of the fall. Thank goodness for changing palettes!

This year I'm kicking off my fall baking with some Iced Pumpkin Cookies. I can't remember where I got the recipe from, but it is a delicious one. They're soft and chewy, even a few days after they are made, and have almost a muffin like consistency. Good thing it makes about 3 dozen cookies because they go fast!


Iced Pumpkin Cookies

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
  
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup pureed pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups All-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
  
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp salt

For The Icing

• 2 cups icing sugar
• 2 TBSP milk
• 1 TBSP melted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of your stand mixer cream together the butter and sugar. Mix in the egg, pumpkin & vanilla.

Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients. Pour into the bowl with the wet ingredients and stir until combined.

Drop the cookie dough by tablespoonfuls onto a lined cookie sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes then remove and cool on a wire wrack.

Combine together the ingredients for the icing. (I ended up with a lot of icing left over so you may want to halve the amount and make more if you run out). Drizzle, or if your like me spread a generous amount, of icing onto cooled cookies. Store in an air tight container.