Pumpkin Cookies

I've made two different types of pumpkin baked goods in the last couple of weeks, but I'm not sure that the pumpkin contributes much to either in the way of flavor. They were both nice and moist, though, and a very autumny shade of orange, and after a couple days they develop a nice bit of spice from cinnamon, allspice and family.

The cookies are like little round cakes, and August and I had a bit of adventure making them. We discovered we didn't have much flour and sugar, so we went for a half-batch. And August dumped half of my baking soda into the sugar, so that gave the final cookies a metallic taste. But I've made these before, using the correct proportions, and have been really happy with the results. This is the full-size recipe; should make between three dozen and four dozen cookies.

Mix 2 1/2 cups flour with 1 teaspoon each baking soda and baking powder, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon each nutmeg, cloves and salt. Beat 1/2 cup softened butter with 1 1/2 cups sugar; add 1 cup pumpkin, 1 egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla and mix. Mix in dry ingredients, then drop tablespoons batter onto cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. The recipe called for a drizzle of powdered sugar glaze, but I think a swipe of cream cheese frosting would be better. We ate them without any adornment, which was a little austere but less messy for a 2-year-old.