Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Brown Butter Icing

Every fall I look for any excuse use squash. As soon as the weather changes I begin craving pumpkin everything: soups, tarts, quiches, puree’, breads, cakes and pies. Sometimes my husband rolls his eyes as he watches me remove the nth orange-colored concoction from the oven as I reinvent yet another squash dish. These pillowy, flavorful pumpkin spice cookies, smothered in a decadent brown butter icing, are just another example of the versatility of this miraculous vegetable… and nobody was rolling their eyes as we bit into these soft, sweet and spicy treats!

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

• 2 1/2 cups (320 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick (110 g) butter, softened
• 1 cup (300 g) sugar
• 1 1/4 cup (350 g) pumpkin puree
• 1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet and flatten slightly.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then frost.

Brown Butter Icing

• 1 stick (115 g) unsalted butter
• 2 cups (240 g) sifted confectioner’s sugar
• 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 to 4 tablespoons milk

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat until golden brown in color, about 10 minutes. Pour butter into a bowl, and add sugar, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon milk; stir until smooth. If the icing is too thick, add another tablespoon milk, a little at a time, until consistency is spreadable. Let cool 5 minutes. Use immediately.