Easy pumpkin cookies with the flavors of the seasons

Linda Amendt shared this recipe for Pumpkin Spice Cookies with us from her book 400 Sensational Cookies. Slightly soft and chewy, these cookies offer the flavors of the season and more than a few aphrodisiac ingredients.

They’re a little bit different than the pumpkin crinkle cookies you often see this time of year. Unlike those soft pumpkin cookies, these are drop cookies, like a chocolate chip cookie, which means they crisp on the edges with soft, chewy centers. They are, in my opinion, made irresistible by an icing drizzle caressing the top of each cookie.

Chewy spice cookies with just the right ingredients

Now, we love all of Linda’s trusted recipes. (After all, Linda is one of the most prolific winners at county and state fair competitions. Without question, she understands successful home baking better than almost anyone.) But we chose to feature these pumpkin cookies because of their special blend of ingredients. In fact, almost half the ingredients in these cookies are considered aphrodisiac. That’s a lot of aphrodisiacs in one cookie recipe!

Check out all of our cookie recipes

For starters, these Pumpkin Spice Cookies call, of course, for a healthy dose of pumpkin. This gourd isn’t on your list of date night foods? You might be shocked to learn that pumpkin is an aphrodisiac. But it’s loaded with the kind of nutrients that make your sexual system hum.

Then there are the spices. Cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger are called the warming spices because they warm the body enough to make you feel like ripping off your clothes. (Ok, that’s not exactly the reason they’re referred to as the warming spices. But they do a great job of naturally warming the body.)

Worth noting is that these, as with many of the cookie recipes we feature, contain one of the world’s most popular aphrodisiacs, vanilla. And don’t forget that, like many of our favorite baked goods, this pumpkin cookie recipe calls for the symbol of fertility, eggs.

Add in a dash of nuts–excellent for testosterone production–and you have a Pumpkin Spice Cookie recipe not only for sweet goodness but for something that has the potential to make your baking take on a very sensual meaning.

Check out more of our favorite Cookies with a Pinch of Sugar and Spice.

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Pumpkin Spice Cookies

These cookies are loaded with the flavor of pumpkin and just the right amount of spice.

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Dish Type: cookie

Seasonal: autumn, Christmas, Holiday season, Thanksgiving

Ingredient: pumpkin

Created by: Linda Amendt

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 can solid pack pumpkin 15 oz
1 cup chopped pecans
for the icing:
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons half-and-half cream or milk
1/2 tsp maple flavoring

Instructions

In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, baking soda and salt until well combined. Set aside.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, cream butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Beat in vanilla.
Add pumpkin and stir until well combined. Scrape down sides of bowl.
On low speed or using a wooden spoon, gradually add flour mixture, beating just until blended. By hand, fold in pecans.
Using a cookie scoop or spoons, drop tablespoonfuls of dough about 2 inches apart on cookie sheets lined with parchment.
Bake one sheet at a time in preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until edges start to turn lightly golden.
Immediately slide parchment paper onto a wire cooling rack. Cool cookies for 5 minutes, then transfer from parchment paper to cooling rack and cool completely.
In a small bowl, combine confectioner’s sugar, 1 tablespoon of the cream and maple flavoring.
Using a small whisk or a fork, blend until icing is smooth and thin enough to drizzle from a fork. Add more cream as needed to achieve the right consistency.
Drizzle icing over cooled cookies.

Notes

Tips: Let icing set before storing cookies between layers of wax paper in a tightly sealed container. If cookies will be frozen, do not ice them. Completely defrost the cookies before drizzling icing over them.(Flavors can blend during storage, so store cookies with strong flavors in separate containers.)

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