Pumpkin Spice Delights

Pumpkin Pie Spice season is here! I wanted to do something with this favorite of spice blends for the cookie baking contest at the State Fair of Texas and came up with these.

Be sure and use dark brown sugar - it makes a huge difference in the taste, and really compliments the clove and cinnamon spices. I also discovered some natural maple syrup at Walmart of all places that were infused with Bourbon - it was just what the filling needed to give it a more sophisticated taste.

These are easy to make and stay moist for days - enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup canola oil

2 cups dark brown sugar

1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Combine canola oil and brown sugar. Add in pumpkin, vanilla, and eggs. Mix in spices, flour, baking powder, and salt. 

Drop by tablespoon size onto Silpat or parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, or until the middle of the cookie springs back to touch. Move to cool rack and let cool to touch.

FILLING:

11 oz cream cheese, softened

4 cups confectioners’ sugar

2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup Bourbon infused maple syrup

Mix the filling ingredients together until combined. Spoon filling between two of the cookies and enjoy!