Pumpkin Sugar Cookies

I'm all for celebrating each and every holiday with its own baked treats. And Halloween, with candy galore, is no exception. Why should it not deserve its own baked treat even though the day is already filled with so much sugar? These Pumpkin Sugar Cookies are the perfect compliment to your Halloween party dessert tray. They bring in the chocolate every Halloween party needs. Yet these Pumpkin Sugar Cookies also bring a sophisticated not overly sweet festive touch for those seeking a respite from all the sour gummies and nougat-filled candy.

Soft, no-chill Sugar Cookies

I find most sugar cookies require some amount of chilling in the refrigerator before baking. These Pumpkin Sugar Cookies, however, require no such chilling time. In fact, these cookies take less than an hour to bake from scratch start to finish, including the time it takes to dip them in chocolate. No-chill sugar cookie dough makes it possible to pull together these Pumpkin Sugar Cookies for that Halloween class party you forgot about or to bring to a friend's house when they decide last minute to have a Friendsgiving party.

Pumpkin two ways

If you're anything like me, you get all excited for Fall baking, buying up a few cans of pumpkin puree each time you're at the supermarket for fear they'll run out as they inevitably do. So, in essence, I'm overstocked with pumpkin puree this time of year - consistently. These Pumpkin Sugar Cookies are a great way to use up some of that puree. And, all that pumpkin pie spice I hoarded when it got restocked.

My Pumpkin Muffin and Pumpkin Roll recipes are other great ways to use up more of those delicious, seasonal pumpkin puree - just sayin'.

Tips for Making This Recipe

• The dough for these Pumpkin Sugar Cookies will be sticky and very soft. Use a bench scraper to transfer the dough from the bowl to your countertop for rolling out. It’s helpful to dip the bench scraper in flour before scraping out the dough. Be sure to lightly sprinkle flour onto your countertop so the dough doesn’t stick. Once the dough is on the counter, sprinkle the top lightly with flour. Then, flour your rolling pin and continue to flour as you roll if the dough starts sticking. I like to keep a bowl of flour next to my workstation so I can dip my hands in whenever the need arises
• When cutting out the cookies with a cookie cutter, it’s useful to dip the cutter into flour between each shape you cut out. This helps retain the shape of the cookies and prevent the dough from sticking to the inside of the cookie cutter when you lift it off
• To easily lift and transfer your cut cookies off the counter and onto the cookie tray, use a thin metal spatula sprinkled lightly with flour. Carefully slide the spatula under each cookie and lift and place onto the baking tray. This helps avoid misshapen cookies from squishing the cut-outs as you try to transfer them
• Bake these Pumpkin Sugar Cookies just until set. This means the center of the cookies no longer look wet and the edges are just starting to turn golden brown 

Useful Kitchen Tools for This Recipe

Rolling Pin

Pumpkin Cookie Cutter

Thin Metal Spatula

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Looking for even more Fall-inspired recipes? Give these a try!

• Baked Apple Cider Donuts
• Classic Pumpkin Roll
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chips Muffins (paleo-friendly, gluten-free, dairy-free)

Pumpkin Sugar Cookies

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Recipe by Kim | kickassbaker.com Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

24

servings

Prep time

25

minutes

Cooking time

10

minutes

Total time

35

minutes

These Pumpkin Sugar Cookies bring a sophisticated not-overly-sweet festive touch to any Fall, Halloween or Thanksgiving table.

Ingredients

• ¾ cup cold unsalted butter, room temperature

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• ½ cup pumpkin puree

• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 large eggs, room temperature

• ¾ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

• 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 6 oz dark baking chocolate, chopped

• Sprinkles or candy for decorating

Directions

• Prepare:
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside
• Make Cookie Dough:
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until creamy.
• Beat in the pumpkin puree and vanilla extract and then the eggs, one at a time, until mixture is well combined.
• With mixer turned off, add the pumpkin pie spice, flour, baking powder and salt. Mix on low speed until a thick dough forms.
• Roll & Cut out the Dough:
• Lightly flour a clean countertop or large cutting board.
• Turn out your dough onto the floured surface. Using a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut the dough in half (does not have to be exact). Set one half aside.
• Using a lightly floured rolling pin, gently roll one half of dough to ¼-inch thickness.
• Use a pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter to cut out pumpkin shapes.
• Using a floured spatula, carefully lift each pumpkin onto prepared baking sheet, placing them 2 inches apart.
• Repeat with remaining dough until all dough has been used up.
• Gently press scraps of dough together and re-roll to cut out more shapes.
• Bake:
• Bake for 7-9 minutes, rotating cookie sheets halfway through, or until cookies are just starting to turn golden brown around the edges.
• Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Melt & Dip in Chocolate:
• Fill a medium saucepan with about 2 inches of water and place over low heat.
• Place chopped chocolate in a heat-proof bowl (I use a glass Pyrex bowl for this) and set over the water.
• Be sure the water is not touching the bottom of the bowl. Let the chocolate warm and slowly melt over the hot water, uncovered, until it is completely melted, gently stirring with a heat-resistant rubber spatula.
• Do not allow any water to splash or touch the chocolate or it will cause the chocolate to seize and become unusable.
• Remove melted chocolate from heat and gently dip one side of each cooled cookie into the chocolate.
• Place dipped cookies onto a wire rack set over a piece of parchment paper or baking tray to catch any drips.
• Sprinkle with decorations while chocolate is warm, if desired.
• Allow to cool completely or place in the refrigerator to allow chocolate to set.

Notes

• Store baked and dipped cookies at room temperature for up to 5 days
• Cookie dough can also be frozen up to 6 months. Wrap the cookie dough tightly in plastic wrap and then place in a freezer safe resealable plastic bag to freeze. Let defrost in the refrigerator overnight before rolling out and cutting into shapes to bake
• Baked (undipped) cookies can be frozen for up to 6 months. Let cookies cool completely, stack with parchment paper in between each layer of cookies and store in a freezer safe container or resealable plastic bag. Lay out to thaw completely before dipping in chocolate

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