October Sweets: Pumpkin Pie Cutout Cookies

Believe it or not, the month of October is quickly approaching! Actually, Halloween will be here soon and we couldn’t be more excited! It may be the costumes or maybe it’s the cooler weather, but October is always a fun month. My favorite part of October is spending time with the family and getting some relief for my sweet tooth. In my case, I opt to skip out on the regular candy and go straight to the good stuff. We have a cookie recipe that is too good to pass up. You can make some for your family to enjoy or for a party with your favorite people. Or, you can eat an entire batch all on your own – we’re not judging! Here’s our favorite fall dessert recipe that’s a must-have this fall.

Pumpkin Pie Cutout Cookies

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup of butter, softened
• 3/4 cup of granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp of additional all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 tsp pumpkin pie sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• parchment paper

Icing Ingredients

• 1 (16 oz) package of powdered sugar
• 2 large pasteurized egg whites
• assorted food coloring

Directions:

1. To begin, beat butter and granulated sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer. Continue beating for 5-7 minutes or until light and fluffy.
2. Then, add egg and vanilla, continue beating for 1 minute.
3. Sift together flour, pumpkin pie sauce and table salt. In addition, add all 3 ingredients to butter mixture at the same time, and beat at medium speed 1 minute or until combined.
4. Flatten dough into a 1-inch-thick disk, and wrap in plastic wrap.
5. Then chill dough for 2 hours.
6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and roll to 1/4 inch thickness.
7. Cut dough with desired cutters, and place 1/2 inch apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. After cutting all the dough, chill cut cookies for 30 minutes.
8. When oven preheats, bake cookies two sheets at a time. Bake at 375 for 9 minutes.
9. Rotate pans front to back, and top rack to bottom rack. Bake an additional 2-4 minutes or until slightly golden around edges. Move cookies to wire racks and allow to cool completely.
10. Afterwards, while waiting for cookies to cool, prepare icing.
11. Beat powdered sugar, egg whites and 2 tsp water at low speed for 2 minutes. If necessary, add 1 tsp at a time to reach desired consistency. Limit additional water to a total of 1 tbsp.
12. Then, Divide icing and tint with food coloring, if desired. Cover icing with plastic wrap or a when not in use.
13. Finally, spread a thin layer of icing over each cookie. For a swirled effect, immediately dot cookie with another color of icing and blend with a wooden pick.
14. Let base layer of icing dry 10 minutes before piping details. Let finished cookies dry 15 minutes before serving.

If you ask me, yummy fall desserts are always in season. However, there’s nothing quite like a soft bite of these pumpkin pie cookies! Perfect for a crisp night curled up with your favorite book, or watch how fast they disappear at your next dinner party! Not only are they delicious, they’re super easy to make! What are some of your favorite fall dessert recipes you can’t wait to break out this October? Leave your comments below!