11.21.16
Thanksgiving week begins! Last week was really something. I’m usually someone who tries to self-medicate as much as possible. If I feel something coming on I’ll rest and drink lots of fluids, do some light yoga or a short jog to help sweat it out and go about my business. I haven’t been seriously ill in years. But after four days with no letting up I knew this was something worse. Not just a bug. So I dragged myself to Urgent Care and come to find out, I have walking pneumonia!!! Woo Hoo! At least I’m not crazy for thinking this was a little more extreme than I’ve felt in the past. Modern medicine, am I right??? I went from standing up and going to the bathroom as the achievement of the day, to cleaning my whole apartment, and making an epic spread for my lady slumber party on Saturday!!! My husband had to travel out of the country this past week for work, which made being sick even grosser, but also gave me a really good excuse to have some girlfriends over, pour some wine, watch Kate Hudson, and eat snacks. This weekend means Thanksgiving is now days away, and I had to make pumpkin cookies! Too much pumpkin recently? Too bad! Welcome to November!!! Muahahahaha!!!
But seriously. I love soft sugar cookies. You know, the ones in the grocery store with the harder buttercream frosting. I love them. But obviously homemade is always better. I’ve made them in the past with a mocha frosting and strawberry frosting, so making pumpkin ones seemed like a natural choice. And they are awesome. Super soft, light pumpkin taste, cream cheese frosting (duh). And what I love about this recipe, is it makes a million cookies. Friendsgiving, Thanksgiving, Black-Friday-oh-god-I’m-scared-to-leave-the-house-dinner, all excellent opportunities for these cookies. I’d even recommending adding a little pumpkin pie spice if you want to turn up the flavor a notch. I liked the subtly of the pumpkin though.
I am so happy to feel like a real girl again! I’m hoping to share one more recipe before Thursday! Also, you’re welcome for no pictures from how I looked this past week, you would never have come back again.
Pumpkin Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 4 cups flour
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup cream cheese
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
For the Frosting
- 6 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups confections sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- splash of milk *if necessary
Instructions
For the Cookies
- Preheat oven to 425 and line two baking sheets with parchment paper
- In a medium bowl, whisk together, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg, set aside
- In the bowl of a stand up mixer on medium-high speed cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy
- Add in eggs, vanilla, cream cheese, and sour cream one at a time, allowing each to mix in before adding the next
- Add in flour mixture about 1/2 cup at a time to allow time to mix in
- Add in pumpkin puree and allow to just combine
- This will be a very sticky dough, flour a clean surface extremely well, scrape out dough onto floured surface and liberally sprinkle flour over dough
- Gently roll out dough until about 1/4 inch thick
- Using a cookie cutter, flour the edges and cut out cookies and place on lined cookie sheets
- Bake for 6-7 minutes, they should barely begin to brown on the edges
- Remove and allow to cool at least ten minutes to set before moving to wire rack
For the Frosting
- Mix together cream cheese and butter in stand up mixer with paddle attachment on medium-high speed
- Add in vanilla, then switch to low speed and add in all of confectioners sugar
- If frosting seems too thick add a splash of milk
- Using an offset spatula frost tops of cookies and enjoy!
P.S.
*These flavors are subtle, adding a little more of each spice can easily amplify the flavors
*This dough is sticky and I wasn’t able to roll it in one ball to start, but once I added in flour on the counter and on top, it came together easily
