One of the reasons I love Halloween is because it's the only other holiday besides Christmas that we celebrate all month. Which means October gives us thirty-one days to read spooky books and enjoy pumpkin spice, usually at the same time!
I'm a lightweight when it comes to horror. Which means I probably shouldn't have read I Am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells when I was home alone for the week. It's the story about a boy, John Wayne Cleaver, who believes he has all the signs of becoming a serial killer. So, he has rules that he follows to keep that side of him quiet. That is, until his home town becomes terrorized by it's own serial killer. Now, John might have to let his own monster out to stop another.
I had some issues falling asleep those nights.
Luckily, there's baking to soothe the scaredy-cat in me. And baking Pumpkin Cream Cookies is soothing AND festive!
The Cookies | The Cream |
2 cups all-purpose flour | 6 ounces softened cream cheese |
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder | ⅓ cup softened butter |
1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice | ½ (7 ounce) jar marshmallow creme |
¼ teaspoon baking soda | 1 teaspoon vanilla |
¼ teaspoon salt | 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice |
1 cup butter, softened | 1 ¾ cups powdered sugar |
1 cup granulated sugar | |
1 egg | |
1 cup canned pumpkin | |
Preheat you oven to 375 degrees F. You'll also want to get you cookie sheet ready with some Reynolds Parchment Paper.
We start with the cookie batter. In a medium bow, combine the flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. In a large bow, beat the butter and sugar together for about 30 seconds. Beat the egg and pumpkin into the butter/sugar mix until it's combined. Now, start adding the flour mixture into the large bowl, beating it into the batter.
Now, start dropping the dough onto the cookie sheet. I've been told to do it by rounded teaspoons, but I always go a bit bigger than that. I'm a mess.
Bake for 12-15 minutes. You want the bottom of the cookies to be light brown. When they're out of the oven, transfer them to a wire rack and let them cool.
While the cookies are in the oven, we can make out cream. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and 1/3 cup of butter until smooth. Definitely make sure they're softened! I didn't the first time and mixing the butter was brutal! Just let them sit out a bit before you start or microwave them for less than 30 seconds.
Once the butter and cream cheese are smooth, add half of the marshmallow cream. As I only learned recently, marshmallow cream is not the same thing as marshmallow fluff. I've found the cream near the ice-cream toppings in the baking aisle.
Add you 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice. Beat until combined. As you do, add the 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar in parts, beating each addition into the mix. The powdered sugar is where I made the biggest mess.
When the cookies are cool, we can add the cream. Spread the cream on the bottom half of a cookie and then top with another cookie, bottom side down. Continue until all the cookies have become Pumpkin Cream Sandwich Cookies!
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