It’s November and I just realized that I haven’t made anything with pumpkin! I have thought about pumpkin, a lot … cut recipes out of magazines … printed recipes from other blogs … gone thru old recipes … even bought two pie pumpkins … but I still had not baked anything pumpkin! So, I finally did it … and actually came up with a new creation. I hope you enjoy it.

Before I started to make these cookies, I had decided to call them Pumpkin Pie Cookies. Then as soon as I started rolling the dough into balls, then rolling them in sugar with spices … I realized how much they remind me of making Snickerdoodles … and they became Pumpkindoodles!

I will take this time to apologize for the photos … I started this project in the day … and continued at night … I bake better than I take pics … someday I’ll take better pics … someday I’ll get a “big girl” camera … maybe I should learn to use what I have.

First, make the cookie dough -

Have you tried vanilla bean paste?  I think that it adds something special … a richer deeper vanilla flavor … and little flecks of color …

Cream together the butter, vanilla and sugar … see how thick and rich the vanilla paste is … don’t worry if you don’t have the paste, vanilla extract also works well …

It will look like this …

Mix in the flour and salt …

   Cover and set aside …

Now, make the pumpkin filling …

Mix cream cheese, pumpkin, sugar and pumpkin pie spice …

Mix until well combined …

  Set it aside …

Mix up more sugar and pumpkin pie spice to roll the cookies in …

Start the assembly line … roll the cookie dough in balls, about the size of a walnut … then flatten slightly … and dip it in the sugar mixture …

Lay the cookie dough on a parchment lined cookie sheet …

Make a well in the center of the cookie … I used my knuckle … I guess they could be “knuckle print” cookies, not “thumb print” cookies … sorry, I couldn’t resist …

I put the filling in a plastic zip top bag … snipped the corner off … and squeezed the filling into the cookies …

Bake the cookies … cool the cookies … consume the cookies … yum!

P.S.  The cookie dough may seem familiar … it is 1/2 recipe of my favorite Shortbread Cookies.

Pumpkindoodles

Cookies

• 1 cup butter (2 sticks) softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (paste or extract)
• 2-1/4 cups unbleached flour (or all-purpose)

Filling

• 4 ounces (1/2 block) cream cheese softened
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1-1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

Sugar Mixture

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1-1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Make the cookie dough – Cream together the butter, vanilla and sugar.  Add the flour and salt.  Mix until blended.  The dough will be stiff.

Make the filling – Cream together the cream cheese, pumpkin, spice and sugar.

Make the sugar mixture – In a small bowl, mix the sugar and spice.

Roll the cookie dough in balls about the size of a walnut (1″ to 1-1/4″), flatten slightly.  Roll the dough in the sugar mixture and place on parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Make a well in the cookie dough and fill with pumpkin filling (spoon it or pipe it in the well).  Bake at 375°F for 11-13 minutes or until lightly golden on edges of the cookie.  Cool completely.  Makes about 36 cookies.  Store in a covered container, not airtight.

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