Years ago, when I met my husband, he was helping to care for his grandpa who had Parkinson’s Disease. During the period of time when we were dating, he was over there a lot, which meant I got a chance to know his grandparents more than I probably would have otherwise. His grandmother loved to bake, but was getting on in years, and had trouble getting around the kitchen. One day while I was over at the house, she had just gotten the recipe for these Pumpkin Cookies and had her heart set on making them. I offered to help whip them up. We had a good time chatting and mixing. That was some of the only one-on-one time I ever spent with her, and every time I make these, I think of her and how we bonded over the best tasting pumpkin cookies we both had ever eaten.
Pumpkin Cookies with Caramel Icing
1 c. sugar
1 c. shortening
1 eggs
1/2 29 oz. can pumpkin
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
Cream shortening and sugar together, but do not whip. Add remaining ingredients. Mix well. Drop large rounded tablespoonful onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350° for 14-18 minutes. Allow to cool. Meanwhile, make caramel frosting (below.)
Caramel Frosting
6 Tbs. butter
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. milk
Melt butter and add brown sugar. Bring to a boil then lower heat to medium low. Stir continually and boil for 2 minutes. Add the milk and return to a boil. When the carmel reaches boiling point, take it off the heat . Let cool to lukewarm. Then beat in:
1/2 – 1 tsp. vanilla
2-3 c. powdered sugar
(You may need to add a bit of milk to make sure you get a nice drizzling consistency)
All there is left to do is drizzle the caramel over the cookies. These are so yummy!
Is the shortening regular or butter flavor?
Thanks
The recipe calls for regular, but I have used butter flavor as well. The butter flavor made the cookies maybe slightly more rich, but it wasn’t a significant difference in taste. Use what you have on hand.
Will the caramel harden enough to stack these cookies? Or does it stay sticky?
I always stack them when I take them to parties. The key is to frost them, and then give them a good half hour to an hour to set up before stack. You’ll notice that once you add the powdered sugar to the icing it starts to harden quickly. If you can wait to mix the powdered sugar and vanilla until right before you frost. You’ll have a smoother, prettier result. Good luck, and thanks for stopping by!
Can you tell me how many cookies this recipe makes?? Thanks
This recipe makes 32 to 36 cookies depending on the size of your scoop…and how many “tastes” your husband takes out of the bowl before you get to bake them:) Remember,bigger scoops they may take a bit longer to cook through as well. Good luck. These things are amazing!