Egg Tip and Frosted Pumpkin Cookies
I have a dessert cookbook that says bring the eggs to room temperature on every single recipe. This used to really annoy me, because if I opened the cookbook, it meant I had time to cook right then, I didn’t have an hour to wait. I don’t know if I am just disorganized, impulsive, or a combination of both, but as a homeschooling mom scheduling baking time during waking hours isn’t easy.
I do realize that having eggs at room temperature works best for some recipes, especially those involving solid fats and yeast, so I came up with a solution. When I find I have a window of time to bake, I pull out the eggs first and place them in a bowl of warm water. 
They may not be exactly to room temperature by the time I need them, but they are a lot warmer than when they came out of the fridge! This also ensure that the eggs are fresh. If they sink, they are good. If they float proceed with caution.
Frosted Pumpkin Cookies 
Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
2 cups shortening (I use Spectrum Organic)
1 3/4 cups pureed pumpkin (or 15 oz. can)
2 eggs (room temperature)
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 cups sifted all-purpose flour (I use gluten free cake flour)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ginger
2 cups raisins (optional – I leave them out.)
1 cup chopped nuts (optional- I leave them out.)
In mixing bowl, thoroughly cream together sugar and shortening. Add pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla and beat well.
In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, soda, salt and spices. Add flour mixture to cream mixture and mix well. Stir in raisins and nuts if desired.
Drop rounded teaspoons of dough onto a greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 – 15 minutes. Makes 6- 7 dozen depending on the size of the cookie. Click here for a tip on baking with a limited number of baking sheets. Remove from baking sheet to cool and then frost. 
My kids enjoy these cookies without frosting, but I prefer them with cream cheese frosting (if you do not frost them, these cookies are dairy free). When I frost them, I cut the strong flavor of cream cheese frosting with butter to make a milder cream cheese frosting.
Cream Cheese and Butter Frosting
3 oz. cream cheese
3 oz. butter or margarine
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 pound powdered sugar
Cream all ingredients together until fluffy. Add a bit of milk or more sugar to achieve desired consistency. Spread on cooled cookies:
Are you an impulsive baker or do you plan ahead?
For more kitchen tips, visit Kitchen Tip Tuesday.
That's a good idea! I usually ignored that when they said it and never thought to do this – great idea! Pumpkin cookies look wonderful!
vickie
Mmmmmm . . . the cookies look delicious!! Great tip about the eggs, too
Those cookies sound really yummy. I love pumpkin so much and could definitely eat it all year round. Do you ahve a good pumpkin bread recipe?
I do, I'll email it to you.
The cookies look yummy! I'll be processing our pumpkins this week. I guess I'll need to make cookies! =)
Luckily the eggs I usually buy haven't been put in the fridge so I just leave them out all the time… which is ironic because I don't usually need room temperature eggs haha!
Thanks for good stuff
that's a great solution.
In answer to your question, I am very impulsive…even when I have a menu plan, my efforts are accomplished whenever there is time throughout the day.
I do the same thing. Plus, I know that they are clean when cracking
100% impulsive – not the best thing for a mama of a large family but that is just how I roll – the cookies look delicious! What a great tip for the eggs – I rarely get them out long enough in advance!
How did I miss this post? YUM! I love pumpkin!
I usually ignore the advice! But this tip is great! Your pumpkin ccokies look lovely…it reminds me I must buy a pumpkin this year and try a recipe…I’ve actually never cooked pumpkin!