This past week I made three batches of Pumpkin Tastiness cookies – a fall favorite of mine. I pull out the recipe every year around the first of October (or whenever the weather gets cool), and make them for pretty much every fall event I attend, and sometimes just to eat myself. The first was a double batch, enough for both a dinner party and a family who just had a baby that I made a meal for [side note story: the dinner party and the making dinner for the new-baby family fell on the same day. it was a bit chaotic in my apartment last Thursday, but so fun!], and then the last batch was for a Fall Festival I went to/co-hosted last night at my friend Shanda’s house. Each occasion was a delight, and it is always so fun for me to see people enjoying food that I make! 🙂 So, I decided to share this recipe with my blog friends. It is not mine originally – all the credit for these tasty morsels goes to Krista Trepod, my team leader in Berlin. She introduced these cookies to our team the first year, and our lives have been better for it! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
pumpkin tastiness cookies
1 c butter
1 c sugar
1 egg (or 2 whites)
1 c pumpkin
2 c flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t salt optional
a dash of nutmeg and allspice (i usually do, i think it adds diversity to the flavor)
combine all and mix. drop spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. makes a lot!
frosting: (though it can go without too…they are delicious both ways)
1 c brown sugar
3 T butter
4 T milk
1 c powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla
boil butter, milk and brown sugar for 2 minutes. cool and add powdered sugar and vanilla.
ice COOL cookies with warm frosting. I usually make the frosting so that it is medium thickness, and then drizzle it across the cookies. If you cover them or put a glop on, they are a bit too sweet.
how to make this recipe healthier without sacrificing the taste:
*make only half the frosting (or double the cookie recipe). i usually do this, and it still makes more than enough to cover all of the cookies.
*use white whole wheat flour. i guarantee you will not taste a difference.
*substitute half the butter for a 1/2 cup of applesauce. [note: I recommend that you do NOT substitute margarine for butter. Not only will you be sacrificing taste, but you will be adding artificial trans fats, which are very unhealthy.]
A Mosaic 
Too many ingredients. Any more than 8 and I can’t do it.