Iced Pumpkin Spice Cookies

I can't begin to tell you how many times I've sat down to start writing my first blog post and then just never did. Between 4 kids under 5, a demanding full-time job, cooking, cleaning, dealing with various therapies, nursing, handling my son's life-threatening food allergies... it just seems like there's never time!  I guess today's the day that I finally get this blog started and I'm just busting with excitement.  I'll admit, I'm no professional chef/baker, definitely not a photographer and writing has never been my strong suit; however, what I do have is a love for my family, food and managing to keep it all frugal!

Before my son's allergies to peanut, tree nut and sesame were severe - or rather, before we knew their severity, my oldest son and I would visit the local farmer's market every Thursday after I picked him up from daycare.  As we walked through the market, I'd point out all of the beautiful fruits and veggies and we'd throw some into our bag and continue along.  Being his young 3 year old self at the time, my son would gravitate toward the homemade baked goods.  The man there would always wear a funky beret and he'd snap his serving tongs playfully every time we came by.  Logan would pick out a cookie and I'd always have to get one too.  My favorite were always the soft pumpkin cookies with raisins and a deliciously sweet glaze. Logan usually picked a simple chocolate chip or one filled with sprinkles.  After a few unfortunately incidents where we had to use the Epi-pen, trips to the farmer's market came to a halt; however, I still longed for those pumpkin cookies! I scoured the internet, trying recipe after recipe until I found one that most resembled my beloved farmer's market find.

Iced Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Yield: Approximately 3 dozen

For Cookies:
1 cup sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree (I used Trader Joe's organic canned pumpkin)
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
scant 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup raisins

For Glaze:
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2-3 tablespoons milk
pumpkin spice (optional)

Preheat your oven to 375° and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar for approximately 3 minutes.  Add in pumpkin puree (don't be surprised by the look of the mixture at this point!).  In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin spice and salt.  Add mixture to stand mixer and mix well until just incorporated.  Fold in raisins.

Using a small cookie scoop, drop the dough onto your baking sheet.  No need to leave much room in between!  I was able to fit 18 cookies on each sheet.  Bake at 375 for about 10 minutes.  Let cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and let cool completely.

Meanwhile, combine all ingredients for the glaze and stir until smooth. Feel free to add a bit more milk until it reaches your desired consistency.   Dip tops of cookies in glaze and gently swirl cookie so entire top is covered in glaze.  Sprinkle pumpkin spice onto the fresh glaze.  Allow to cool on a wire rack (I like to put a big piece of foil under the rack for easy cleanup!) The glaze will harden a bit and the cookies will be soft and deliciously sweet!

SOURCE:  slightly adapted from Avad Fan.