Pumpkin Cream Pies

These will be your new favorite cookie, no question about it! These are soft with a little bit of spice. Double your recipe! You will want extras!

Makes 16 sandwich cookies

Ingredients Cookies: 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg ½ teaspoon ground ginger ½ teaspoon salt ½ cup butter, softened 1 ½ cups white sugar 1 cup canned pumpkin puree 1 egg

Optional: 1/4 cup of large grain sugar (Demerara sugar) Cream Cheese Filling: 8 oz low fat cream cheese, room temperature 1/2 cup butter, room temperature 1 teaspoon vanilla 4 cups confectioner's sugar Directions 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt. Set off to the side. 2. In a separate bowl, cream together 1/2 cup of butter and sugar. This will take about 3-5 minutes. Next, add in the pumpkin, egg, and vanilla to the butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Be careful not to over mix.

3. Line a baking sheet with a non-stick liner, parchment paper or grease. Using a 1 oz scoop, scoop cookies onto the baking sheet. Optional: sprinkle each cookie with a little Demerara sugar for a little crunch. 4. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-18 minutes. The cookies will have a slightly golden brown edge. Take out of the oven and allow them to cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

5. While the cookies are cooling. Mix together the butter and the cream cheese until smooth. Add in your vanilla and confectioner's sugar. Mix until incorporated.

6. Once the cookies have fully cooled, pipe some of the cream cheese filling onto the bottom of a cookie. Sandwich with another. Repeat this step until you run out of cookies. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Iced Pumpkin Cookies by Gina