Monday, August 2, 2010

Momma's Spiced Pumpkin Cookies

These are a favorite of mine any time of the year but my fondest memories of them come from the fall. My mom would always bake these for us constantly between Halloween and Christmas.

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter or margerine, softened (I use salted sweet cream butter out of personal preference but my mom use to use the butter flavored margarine)
1 cup white sugar
1 15oz can of Pumpkin (or equal amount of fresh, cooked, purred pumpkin)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup dates or raisins (this is a personal preference)
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

(all spices can be replaced by using 1-1.5 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice but I never buy it because I keep the other spices on hand at all times anyways)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until creamy. Beat in eggs, pumpkin, and vanilla. Beat in baking soda, baking powder, spices, and salt. Gradually beat in the flower a 1/2 cup at a time. Stir in dates and nuts.

Drop by large spoonfulls onto a greased baking sheet. Bake 15-20 minutes or until the edges start to turn a beautiful golden color. Cool on baking sheet for roughly 2 minutes then transfer to a wire cooling rack.

Feel free to play with the ingredients a bit. Omit the ginger if you don't like ginger. Use raisins instead of dates. You can even substitute pecans for the walnuts. It's all a personal preference.

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