Spooooky Cooookies -- Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies with Cream Cheese Frostingl

Here in Minnesota it's very vogue (and easy) to love fall.  The trees are pretty spectacular with their bright leaves, and apple orchards and pumpkin farms are around every corner.  I've been blessed with a couple of days off in payment for some long conference nights, so Callah and I set out to celebrate fall with gusto.

Our first order of business was pumpkin spice sugar cookies with cream cheese frosting.  The base of the cookies is a staple from my grandmother's cook book, Company at the Parsonage, and I added a 1/2 teaspoon of pumpkin pie seasoning to the dough.

CREAM:

1 cup sugar with

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

ADD:

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 Tablespoons cold water

1 beaten egg

Mix well.  

SIFT TOGETHER:

2 1/4 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

few grains of salt

 * 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie seasoning (optional)

Add dry ingredients to wet, mixing slowly.  Roll very thin on a lightly floured board. Cut with spooktacular cookie cutters dipped in flour.  Place on lightly greased cookie sheet. 

Bake at 400 degrees for 6-8 minutes.  

For the frosting, I used about 6 oz of whipped cream cheese and about 2 cups of powdered sugar, a splash of milk and a 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie seasoning.

The overall effect was some lightly seasoned fall cookies with just the right amount of extra spice.  

To round out our days, we've been taking long walks with our sweaters on and sipping hot coffee at Starbucks (or milk) and enjoying their fireplace.