Pumpkin Rocks with Cream Cheese Frosting |
Author: Nancy Baggett
- 1 cup (5 ounces) dark seedless raisins
- 3 cups all-purpose unbleached white flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoons each ground cloves and nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Scant ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup (10⅔ tablespoons) unsalted butter, slightly softened
- 1⅓ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup corn oil or other flavorless vegetable oil
- ¼ cup light molasses
- 1 cup canned pumpkin (not seasoned pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- Frosting (Optional)
- 1 3-ounce package cream cheese, slightly softened
- 2 ½ cups unsifted powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon orange juice
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Lightly grease several large baking sheets, or spray with nonstick spray.
- In a small bowl, cover raisins with hot water.
- Let stand 10 minutes; drain thoroughly.
- In a medium-sized bowl, thoroughly stir together flour, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, soda, and salt.
- In a large mixer bowl with mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until very well blended and fluffy.
- On low speed, beat in the oil, molasses, pumpkin, and vanilla until smoothly incorporated.
- Beat or stir in the flour mixture, then raisins until evenly incorporated.
- Drop dough into golf ball-sized mounds, spacing about 2½ inches apart on the baking sheets.
- Bake one pan at a time in upper third of the oven until cookies are lightly browned all over and slightly darker at the edges, 13 to 15 minutes.
- Let stand just until firmed up slightly.
- Using a spatula, transfer cookies to wire racks; let stand until thoroughly cooled.
- To prepare for icing, set racks of cookies over sheets of wax paper.
- For frosting: In a mixer bowl with mixer on low, then medium speed, beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla until well blended and very smooth.
- Beat in orange juice until smoothly incorporated. If frosting is very stiff, add enough water to thin it to a spreadable but still firm consistency; if too thin, add more powdered sugar.
- Using a table knife or small, thin-bladed spatula, swirl about a teaspoon of frosting over center of each cookie top.
- Let stand until frosting sets, at least 1 hour.
- Store, airtight, with wax paper between the layers.
- The cookies may be frozen, airtight, for up to a month.
Recipe by KitchenLane at http://kitchenlane.com/2013/10/a-fine-pumpkin-cookie-plus-some-very.html
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