Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Butter Frosting

Frosted Pumpkin Cookies! Can you smell the spicy deliciousness? I just made a batch of wonderful little pumpkin cookies that have a cake-like texture with the most heavenly frosting glaze. My kids all love just about anything pumpkin but my husband does not. He won't touch these. (He hasn't tried them and probably never will but he thinks he doesn't like them. Okay, his loss!) Since the kids all moved out, I have gotten away from making hardly anything pumpkin. The other day one of my patient's came into the office and said she and her sister liked my blog but I need something pumpkin on it and she would like to taste test it! Well...here goes converting my old pumpkin cookie recipe into gluten free. Since this recipe makes a lot of cookies... I was really hoping that they weren't going to be a failed experiment and end up in the garbage. They smelled fabulous while they were baking in the oven. It made my house smell like the holidays!

When the time came to remove them from the oven and frost them, I caught myself holding my breath hoping they would be delicious. I was tired after working all day on my feet so I didn't want to keep experimenting and I didn't want to disappoint my patient tomorrow. After taste testing several cookies (quality control you know!)...I decided that they are quite tasty and I will take my patient some cookies into work tomorrow and post the recipe on my blog. This recipe makes a lot of cookies but the dough refrigerates well so you can bake them later or just reduce all the ingredients by half and just make half a recipe. I like my pumpkin cookies with just the frosting but you can add chopped walnuts or pecans or cranberries or raisins to the batter before baking if you want. I personally don't think these cookies  need any of the extra additions. (I have tried adding mini chocolate chips to my non-gluten free version a few years ago but thought the chocolate chips took away from the pumpkin flavor. I want the pumpkin to be the star in this recipe!) I like the nice spicy flavor of the pumpkin with the sweet buttery flavor of the frosting.

Pumpkin Cookie Recipe:

•  1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree (make sure it isn't the pumpkin pie filling) 
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 cups flour (I used my gluten free flour blend, recipe below) but you can use regular flour if you don't have a gluten allergy). You will need to add 1 tsp. xanthan gum or guar gum if you are using gluten free flour and it does not already contain one of these. If using regular flour then omit. 
• 1 tbs. cinnamon, ground
• 1 tbs. pumpkin pie spice
• 2 cups Crisco shortening
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. baking soda

Cream shortening, sugars, pumpkin, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice until creamy. Beat in eggs. Add baking soda, salt, and flour. Mix well. Drop by spoonfuls (I used a cookie scoop) onto cookie sheet. (I used parchment paper to line my cookie sheet). Bake 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden on top. These will not spread much, they will have a slight cake texture so don't over bake them. You can spread frosting onto slightly warm cookies or you can just turn cookies upside down and just dip the cookie tops into the frosting while warm to glaze them which is what I do. I find it easier to do it this way. (They are also good without the frosting if you prefer them not as sweet. I personally have a SWEET TOOTH and love the frosting glaze on these little bad boys! I can't make a huge batch and leave them around because I catch myself just popping them in my mouth every time I walk into the kitchen...hence the jeans getting too tight! I like to share the calories - oops I mean cookies with others!)

Pumpkin cookies on parchment paper prior to baking

Brown Butter Frosting:

• 1 stick real butter
• 8 tbs. milk 
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar

In a saucepan, melt the butter, milk and brown sugar until sugar is dissolved. Cool slightly and then whisk in the powdered sugar. It should have a light brown/tan color. Dip cookie tops into warm frosting for a smooth finish or smooth frosting onto cookies with a knife.

Gluten Free Flour Blend Recipe:

• 1 1/2 cups brown rice flour
• 1 cup white rice flour (I used sweet rice flour for this batch)
• 1/2 cup glutinous rice flour (made from sticky rice, gluten free)
• 1 cup potato starch (not flour)
• 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk, make sure it is very fine in texture
• 1 cup corn starch or tapioca starch (I used corn starch for this batch)
• 3 tbs. xanthan gum

Combine all ingredients together well. I store mine in a glass container and use it in place of regular flour in all my recipes. This particular blend I really like for baked sweet goods. 

Cookies after dipping tops into slightly warm frosting. It looks a
little messy but they will transfer just fine after they have cooled.

The delicious little cookies ready to eat!

Taste testing the results of the gluten free version of my pumpkin cookies!

I hope that this recipe will help anyone with a gluten allergy make some really delicious treats for the upcoming holidays or for whenever you are craving some pumpkin deliciousness! (You can also make these yummy little cookies using regular flour if you do not have a gluten allergy!)

Enjoy!

Tanja
Gluten Free Casually