My love affair with all things pumpkin

I absolutely love fall. When it comes down to it I really think it is my favorite season. I love the colors, the weather and the smells.
One of the smells that means it is fall to me is the smell of pumpkin. So you can imagine my dismay when I heard that there was going to be a canned pumpkin shortage this fall. Everytime I went to the store I looked in vain for the cans that would make my fall season complete. I was loosing faith that I would be able to have my fill of this wonderful vegetable.
Then on one of my recent trips I saw an entire display devoted to canned pumpkin. It took all of my will power not to buy the entire display!
To celebrate I made cheesecake filled pumpkin cupcakes. They were delicious. However, the recipe I am sharing today is a recipe for pumpkin cookies. I baked them last night and they are wonderful. They are a wonderfully cakey cookie, which I am thinking of turning into whoopie pies in the near future. I left off the glaze, because I was afraid of covering up the fall tastes that I love. My son and his friend helped me bake them, and I was surprised at how quickly they gobbled them up after they were done baking!

Wonderfully Cakey Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients

* 2 1/2 cups 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
* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 1 1/2 cups white sugar
* 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
* 1 egg
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
*
* 2 cups confectioners' sugar
* 3 tablespoons milk
* 1 tablespoon melted butter
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.
3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then drizzle glaze with fork.
4. To Make Glaze: Combine confectioners' sugar, milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add milk as needed, to achieve drizzling consistency.