Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Let's jump on the bandwagon of all things pumpkin - at least for a short ride.  I don't drink coffee, so I don't prescribe to the crazy Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks pumpkin extravaganzas.  I do, however, love pumpkin pastries.  I am a huge fan of pumpkin pie - with homemade graham cracker crust.  This year I decided to try my hand at a new pumpkin cookie recipe.  The pumpkin cookie recipes piled up and I needed to choose one to try.  My requirements were simple: lower calorie then pumpkin bars and makes at least 48 light and fluffy pumpkin cookies.  No flat crunchy pumpkin cookies for me.  None of the recipes I had seemed to fit into those simple guidelines.  So I set out and modified one on my own.  The result is wonderfully delicious! 

YUM - If the batter is good,
the cookie normally is!

Pumpkin Spice (Cake) Cookies

• 2 1/2 c Flour
• 1 t Baking Powder
• 1 t Baking Soda
• 2 t Cinnamon
• 1/2 t Nutmeg
• 1/2 t Cloves
• 1/2 c Butter or Margarine, softened
• 1 1/2 c Sugar
• 1 c Pumpkin Purée
• 1 Egg
• 1 t Vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.  
2. Cream together margarine, sugar, vanilla, pumpkin and egg.  
3. Add in cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, powder and soda.
4. Blend in flour slowly and mix well.
5. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto a cookies sheet (I did not grease my sheet, though you probably could if you felt the need) and bake for about 10 minutes.  The time really depends on how "gooey" you like your cookies.  When it comes to pumpkin cookies I am big fan of "goo".
6. Remove from pan and allow to cool (or eat them warm right off the pan like we do in my house).
7. ENJOY

The recipe made 50 good size cookies.  They came in at 58 calories a piece - I would say that is pretty darn good for a cookie.  If you wanted you could easily top these with some cream cheese frosting, but your calorie count will go up significantly.  For additional sweetness, you could just do a simple glaze.  though if you are thinking about frosting the cookies you may want to flatten your dough drops prior to cooking.  I should also say that these cookies are really more the consistency of cake than that of a cookie, hence the (cake) in the title.  If you want to add a little kick, think about adding cinnamon chips or chocolate chips to the cookie dough.