Pumpkin goodness

I cannot get enough of pumpkin flavored things in the fall. And this recipe did not disappoint. The cookies are very cake-like, but get a nice crust on the outside. And the cinnamon glaze? Well, that's the icing on the cake.
I usually sneak in some whole wheat flour in cookies, but I was all out this time around. I added some quick cooking oats instead. Not a lot, but enough to give the cookie a bit of texture. Barely noticeable, but it's nice to know there is a bit of whole grain in there. I would imagine you could easily substitute half of the white flour for whole wheat.

Pumpkin Cookies with Cinnamon Glaze
(Adapted from Iced Pumpkin Cookies at allrecipes.com)


2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup quick cooking oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

 

1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

For the Cinnamon Glaze
2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugars. Add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.
3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from heat and transfer to cooling sheets.
4. While cookies are cooling, make the glaze. Combine confectioners' sugar, milk, melted butter, cinnamon and vanilla. Add milk as needed to reach the right consistency (thick but "dunkable").
5. Allow cookies to cool, then dunk them top first into the glaze. Don't store the cookies in a closed container. They'll do fine out on the counter for a couple of days.

You knit some, you lose some...

Last week, I came back from a wonderful vacation with my family with lots of photos, wonderful memories... and a knitting project significantly smaller than it was when we left. There I was, cheerfully working on my February Lady sweater, when something about the lace pattern seemed off. The lacework wasn't lining up just right - I then realized that somewhere several rows up, I had repeated a portion of the pattern where I shouldn't have. So, I began unraveling. And then... I kept going. I saw a weird gap on my garter stitch button band. And then there was those buttonholes. And before I knew it, I was down to the neck band. It's kind of weird how all that frogging is heartbreaking and weirdly satisfying all at the same time.

But I'm working to get back to where I was. I'm much more satisfied with my the top buttonhole this time, so I feel happy with my decision. Except when I look at where I was... sniff... and where I could have been if I hadn't done all that unravelling... sniff, sniff... but I know I'll be happy with the end result.

Of course, I'm thinking my sweater might take a backseat for a few weeks to get some (cue festive music) holiday knitting underway.

Ooh, look at that lovely little stash of Patons Wool. So full of potential. I can't wait to get started.

I got a rock.

Halloween is an interesting time of year. For 364 days out of the year, we tell our kids, strangers are bad. Don't talk to strangers. And for goodness sakes, don't take candy from strangers. Unless it's Halloween. Then, by all means, take their candy. And if they're doling out the full-size candy bars, go home, throw together another costume, go back and take more of their candy.

Last night, I paid my daughter for all of her chocolate candy. After dinner, she dumped out her bag of candy, separated her chocolates from her non-chocolates and presented me with a box filled with Snickers, Milky Ways, Kit Kats, Reese's Cups... pretty much the stuff of my childhood dreams. But she hates all of it. She hates - yes, hates - chocolate. While out trick or treating, she was very polite, dutifully saying thank you no matter what was dropped into her bucket. When she'd come back to me, she'd mutter in this dejected voice, "Chocolate." You would have thought she had just gotten a rock dropped into her bucket instead of bits of chocolatey deliciousness. At least promising her money for each piece of chocolate helped with her disappointment.

As luck would have it, one girl's rock is another girl's baking treasure. Last year I used her discarded Reese's cups for some pretty tasty Peanut Butter Cup Blondies (thanks to that blondie recipe I told you about before). I'm thinking of doing a mix this time around, sort of a candy bowl blondie. I'll let you know how it turns out.