Throughout grade school, Mom drove my brother and me into the rural outskirts of the neighboring town every October. We bounced along in the backseat, giggling as we hit every pothole and watching the farmhouses roll past the windows.
Eventually we slowed to a stop in a dirt parking lot and clambered out of the car to push our way through the cornstalk maze and pay a nickel to feel goats nibble their food out of our hands. But most importantly, we inspected every row of pumpkins, critiquing the size, shape, and color, until we each picked on to carry home and carve with Dad.
This year, the whirlwind at work ate up my free time, and I didn’t even buy a pumpkin to carve, much less visit a pumpkin patch. Yet it isn’t Halloween without a jack-o-lantern or two, so I baked mine into cookies instead!
Happy Halloween!
based on SparkRecipe’s Yummy Pumpkin Cookies
These aren’t just for Halloween; they’re cute all fall long! Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Preheat the oven to 350°, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and next 6 ingredients (through allspice). In a small bowl, stir together the pumpkin, applesauce, and vanilla. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet, stirring just until incorporated.
- Using 1½ tsp of dough at a time, shape into a circle and place on the prepared pans. Press two chocolate chips into the dough circle for the eyes and four for the smile. Bake cookies at 350° for 12-14 min. Let them cool on the pan for 3 min before sticking one piece of cereal into the top of each as the stem. Put the jack-o-lanterns onto a wire rack to cool completely.
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