pumpkin snickerdoodles

Merry Christmas! Celebrating the birth of our Savior as well as the bittersweet end to a crazy year is cause for some delicious treats :) All the leftover pumpkin from my Thanksgiving pumpkin pie phase sent me scrambling for more pumpkin recipes, until I stumbled across these pumpkin snickerdoodles. I tried them out and they received such good feedback that I decided to make them my holiday cookies for the year. Over the course of 3 weeks and 6 (or more) batches later, the cookies are now topped with Hershey Kisses (of love) and I think I'm done baking for the year...but that's only one more week so until then, stay warm and eat yummy foods :)

Things you need: 1/2 cup butter (softened) 1/4 cup white sugar 1/4 cup light brown sugar 7 tbsp pumpkin puree 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 1/2 cup flour 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp salt 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp nutmeg 1/2 tsp ground ginger 1/4 tsp ground cloves (optional) 1/4 cup white sugar 1 tsp cinnamon 2 dozen Hersey Kisses

Things you do: 1. Preheat your oven to 350ºF. In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the softened butter and white and brown sugar. Add the pumpkin puree and vanilla and stir until it forms a grainy paste. 2. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. Pour this into the wet mixture and stir until all of it is mixed in. 3. Prepare the cinnamon and sugar coating in a small bowl. Using two spoons (or your hands), form small balls from the dough and roll them around in the cinnamon coating before placing them on an ungreased baking sheet. 4. Bake for 10 minutes at 350ºF, switching racks after 5 minutes to ensure even baking. 5. Unwrap the Hershey Kisses so that as soon as the cookies come out of the oven, you can press a Kiss in the center of each cookie. Make sure to do this while the cookies are still hot! Let them cool and enjoy* :) *If you want to package these as gifts, make sure to cool overnight! The chocolate may still be soft long after the cookies have cooled.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
-M