Frost on the Pumpkin Spice Cookies

 

I have always lamented the fact that Christmas cookies are only available at Christmas time. I get it; Christmas cookies are special, that’s the point, but what if I want a Christmas cookie at some other time of the year? What about that? I was thinking about snowball cookies the other day (that just happen to be one of my favorite Christmas cookies), and decided that I wanted them now. But to make them more socially acceptable, I decided to make a pumpkin spice version, making them much more suitable for this time of the year. Because I hate working with anything fiddly, and that includes rolling cookie dough into balls, I lost myself for a moment, thinking I was rolling meatballs, so mine tended to be a bit large. No complaints from me, the bigger, the better, right? You, however, may want to make yours a little smaller.

Frost on the Pumpkin Spice Cookies

 Cookies:

1 c. butter, room temperature

¾ c. powdered sugar, divided

1 t. vanilla extract

2¼ c. flour

½ t. salt

1 T. cinnamon

1 t. nutmeg

½ t. ginger

½ t. allspice

½ t. cloves

1/8 t. cardamom

¾ c. chopped pecans    

Sugar coating:

1 c. powdered sugar

2 t. pumpkin pie spice

 1 t. cinnamon

 In the work bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter, sugar, and vanilla until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.

 In a medium bowl whisk together flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and cardamom.

 Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture, beating just until the dough comes together. Fold in nuts. Gather the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate overnight to allow the spices to intensify.

 When ready to bake, remove from refrigerator, and allow setting at room temperature for 30 minutes.

 While dough is coming to temperature, whisk together 1 cup powdered sugar, 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon; set aside.

 Preheat oven to 375°F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or a Silpat; set aside.

 Roll about a tablespoon measure of dough into balls and place on prepared baking sheets. Bake for 14 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven, and cool for a few minutes. As soon as you are able to handle them, roll each cookie in the spiced powdered sugar mixture, and place on a rack to cool. When cooled, roll a second time in the spiced powdered sugar and return to the rack.

Store in an airtight container, or freeze.

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