Pumpkin Gingerbread with Cream Cheese Icing

These are great gingerbread cookies.  We made them for Halloween, hoping for pumpkin-pie flavored gingerbread.  It didn't quite work out that way.  I think that there wasn't enough pumpkin perhaps.  It just tasted like good gingerbread.  The cream cheese frosting is great.

This might be tweaked to taste more like pumpkin pie.

Cookies Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup canned pumpkin puree {pure pumpkin~ not pumpkin pie filling}
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. ginger
3/4 tsp. cloves
3/4 tsp. nutmeg

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 stick of butter softened
1 package of cream cheese softened
5 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Instructions
Cookies
In your mixer, combine butter, sugar, and molasses. Add your pumpkin puree and mix well. Add egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine all of the rest of the dry ingredients. Slowly mix your dry ingredients into your butter mixture until combined.
Wrap in wax or parchment paper and throw in the refrigerator for at least 3 or 4 hours until it firms up. I leave mine in over night.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly flour your work surface and split your dough into thirds. Lightly pat the top of one section of dough with flour and roll out until it is about 1/4″ thick.
Cut into desired shapes and place on a greased cookie sheet.
Cook for 6 to 7 minutes at 375 degrees. Mine were perfect at exactly 7 minutes. Let cool completely.
Pipe your favorite icing onto each of your cookies into desired design.
Cream Cheese Frosting

Whip together butter, cream cheese, and vanilla in your mixer until well combined. Add powdered sugar and beat until light and fluffy. It may take a minute for all of the ingredients to combine. It might look too dry to begin with, but it will mix together and turn out perfectly.

Chocolate Ginger Snaps

Ingredients
 
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoons minced fresh gingerroot
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking cocoa
1-1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
4 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, chopped or pulsed in food processor
1/4 cup sugar

In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the molasses, water and gingerroot. Combine the flour, cocoa, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in chocolate. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or until easy to handle.


Shape dough into 1-in. balls; roll in sugar. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets.

Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until tops begin to crack. Cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks. Yield: 3 dozen.