HAPPY (almost) HALLOWEEN! Halloween is my favorite holiday, fall is one of my favorite seasons, and I love pumpkin stuff. Yep. I'll admit it. I'm one of those people.

Do you love soft cookies? Super soft, moist, delicious, cookies that sort of taste like the tops of muffins? Then this recipe is for you. I drizzled them with a pumpkin butter glaze, made with this stuff (aka dreams in a jar). If you don't have pumpkin butter, you can just make it without and do a vanilla glaze. Or add some chopped chocolate and do a chocolate glaze. Or just eat plain. Or make some cream cheese frosting and stick it in between two of these and call it a whoopie pie. Honestly these are amazing.

One more note -- add more cinnamon and nutmeg if you're really into spices. The spice on this as it stands is pretty subtle.

Ingredients:

for the cookies

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

for the glaze

2 cups sifted powdered sugar
3 tablespoons whole milk
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Spoonfuls of pumpkin butter, to taste

Directions:

Set your oven to 350 degrees and lay some parchment paper on a baking sheet.

Get a big bowl and mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat together the sugar and butter until they're mixed well. Add the pumpkin, egg, and vanilla extract and continue beating until the mix is smooth. Add the flour mixture in by increments until it is all added. Don't overmix, but be sure the batter is free of flour streaks!

Spoon the cookies out by rounded tablespoon onto the baking sheet. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until set on top but still soft. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet. Remove from the baking sheet to cool completely.

To make the glaze, put the powdered sugar, milk, melted butter and vanilla extract in a bowl and mix well with a spoon to combine. Add spoonfuls of pumpkin butter to taste (I used three to four tablespoons.) Use a spoon to drizzle the glaze on top of the cookies.

Eat with a tall glass of milk, or a nice cup of tea or coffee!