Recipe - Pumpkin Pie Spice Cookies

The hoopla every fall season is on the pumpkin "flavor" which usually just translates to the trinity of cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove. These manage to come together to evoke the idea of the big orange squash, and I admit that these cookies follow along. There is no pumpkin in this recipe but the cookies do imply some pumpkin-ness. Either way, they are delicious and if you doubt me, ask my coworkers who managed to dispense of my stash within minutes of it being offered. The style is similar to my snickerdoodles but these are slightly taller (though just as soft). They also nearly look identical but the smell is a dead giveaway; the aroma of autumn is hard to miss with these bad boys. You'll have to give them a try.


Step 1: Ingredients (yields 1-1.5 dozen, depending on size)

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsps pumpkin pie spices (mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, clove)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1 medium egg
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Step 2: Prepping ingredients
Preheat oven at 350°F. Cookies like these are fairly straightforward when it comes to baking them. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter with both sugars until fluffy. In a separate bowl, combine flour, spices, baking powder, and salt. Once wet ingredients are well-mixed, add in egg and vanilla extract. Then slowly mix in dry ingredients until a dough forms.

Step 3: Finishing
Roll dough into balls and place on baking sheets with parchment paper. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until bottom is golden. Cool and enjoy!


Photography by Duc Duong.