Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Cookies and Iced Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Surprise, surprise... more pumpkin recipes! Sorry, but I just can't get enough! These were inspired by a special request from my friend Jeff who asked for some baked goodies for his house. His one request was that they HAD to include pumpkin. That was no problem, considering my endless obsession with Foodgawker has led me to multiple yummy pumpkin recipes. I had seen a lot of recipes for homemade pumpkin cinnamon rolls, but I didn't have enough time for the dough to rise again, so I found the next best thing: Pumpking Cinnamon Roll COOKIES! Not only are they filled with lots of cinnamon-sugar filling (which I wish I added more of!) but they're topped with a maple syrup cream cheese frosting! :)

Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Cookies with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Yield: 3 dozen

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup pumpkin
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• dash of cloves

Filling:
4 Tbsp. granulated sugar or brown sugar (I used 1/2 of each)
1 Tbsp. cinnamon

For the frosting drizzle:
1 Tbsp. melted butter

1 Tbsp. cream cheese
1/8 tsp. maple extract (optional - I didn't have any, so I just threw in about a tsp. of regular maple syrup, and you could definitely still taste it!)

1 cup powdered sugar (adjust amount to until desired consistency is reached)

Directions:

1. Cream together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.  
2. Add pumpkin and vanilla and beat until well incorporated.  
3. Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk together.  
4. Add dry ingredients to the butter mixture in several additions and mix until everything is combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and put in the freezer for 20 minutes - it will be easier to roll out if it's chilled.
5. While dough is chilling, stir together the filling (sugar and cinnamon) until well mixed.
6. Turn out chilled dough onto a floured or parchment paper covered flat surface and roll out into a large rectangle until it's about 1/4" thick.   
7. Sprinkle filling all over mixture and pat it in. It might not all stick to the dough at first but that's okay! 
8. Roll up the dough jelly-roll style, using the parchment paper to help if you have it. Try to roll it tightly so it sticks together, but if the dough starts to break as you're rolling, don't worry, just pinch it back together :)
9. Refrigerate dough for a few hours (I was impatient and just let it sit in the freezer for about a half hour - why not speed up the process if you can?)
10. Preheat oven to 350° and remove plastic wrap and cut into slices between 1/4"-1/2" thick - when you're cutting, use a back and forth motion instead of just cutting down, you'll squish the dough and ruin the cute cinnamon spiral that they make!
11. Place cookies on a parchment lined cookie sheet 1-2" apart and bake for 8-10 minutes (I was around 10 minutes, thicker cut cookies might take a little longer) until the center of the cookie doesn't look too soft anymore or the edges start to brown.
12. While cooling, prepare the glaze. Melt the butter, add the cream cheese and maple syrup and whisk until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and add more if needed until desired consistency is reached.
13.  Transfer glaze to a plastic bag, and cut a small hole at the corner. Drizzle glaze all over the cookies and enjoy

Iced Pumpkin Spice Cookies

 Yield: 3 Cookies

Ingredients:

Dough

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. cloves
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 butter, softened (1 stick)
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Glaze:

• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• 1 tablespoon cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. 
2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white and brown sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.
4. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven (Mine were done right at 15 minutes). Cool cookies.
5. Prepare the glaze: combine milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, 1 tablespoon cream cheese and 1 teaspoon vanilla and whisk until smooth. Add confectioner's sugar and add milk as needed, to achieve drizzling consistency. 
6. Drizzle over cookies and let dry.