Spiced Pumpkin Cookies with Orange-Sugar Icing: A Family Favorite

I feel like Fall is synonymous with pumpkin flavored morsels. Pumpkin cookies, pumpkin pie, pumpkin ice cream, and even Starbuck's pumpkin spice latte! In my family, a popular fall treat and Thanksgiving staple, is spiced pumpkin cookies with orange-sugar icing. Now, even though it is technically a cookie, these are the cakey-kinds of cookie that are super moist and delicious. Something that you can really sink your teeth into. My mom has been baking these pumpkin cookies and serving them for as long as I can remember, but this year, it was my turn to bake the annual pumpkin cookies!

This dessert is super easy and can be made ahead of time, both in terms of making the dough and/or baking. It's totally up to you. This recipe made about two dozen cookies, but if you spoon out smaller balls, you will be able to get more! A guaranteed party pleaser that will disappear instantly!

Ingredients for Pumpkin Cookies:
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temp
- 1/2 cup packed golden brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp orange peel
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup raisins
Ingredients for Icing:
- 1.5 cup sifted powdered sugar
- 2.5 tbsp orange juice

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare your baking sheets.

2. Beat the unsalted butter, brown sugar, white sugar, large egg, and maple syrup.
3. Add the pumpkin and mix.
4. Add orange zest, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and allspice. Beat to blend.
5. Add flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix well.
6. Add raisins and mix gently.
7. Once your dough is ready, it should have a slightly sticky and heavy texture, scoop out onto baking trays. I used a small ice-cream scoop. Ideally, you tablespoon size balls. 
8. Bake cookies in the oven for about 15 minutes OR until golden brown and the center is firm to the touch. 
9. While the cookies cool, prepare the icing. Sift icing sugar through a colander. 
You want your sugar to be really soft --- like powdered snow
10. Add the orange juice and mix.
Make sure all of the orange juice and sugar mix. You want a gooey consistency. 
11. Transfer your icing into a piping bag. If you don't have a piping bag, do what I did and use a ziploc bag. Load the icing in and once you are ready, snip the edge of the bag. (Also, I added a layer of newspaper below my cookies to catch any icing that may have dripped off. You don't have to do it, but it does make clean up easier). 
12. Carefully pipe the icing out onto cookies, making a zig zag pattern. 
13. Once the icing has been piped out, let the cookies sit for a bit. (You want the icing to dry.)
14. Once the icing is dried, they are ready to serve!


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