Easy Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Ahhhhhh, fall is in the air! I love the look and smells of fall. Here in the Pacific Northwest the trees leaves are starting to turn from green to the reds and yellows. Each and every September I get the uncontrollable craving for pumpkin dishes. Among my favorites are these easy pumpkin spice cookies. They are so simple to make and just four ingredients (which I like) for the cookies and you can use a tub of premade frosting for the top but don't forget to lightly sprinkle with nutmeg. The cookies are so soft and moist and people request these from me each fall as if we cannot start the season without them. I use the double recipe because, a) they go quickly, and, b) it uses a whole can of pumpkin and if you use vanilla frosting in the tub, it uses one whole tub so there are no leftovers. I hope you give them a try.

Easy Pumpkin Spice Cookies
(Double recipe)

2 boxes yellow cake mix
4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 can 15 oz. pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1/2 cup butter, softened

Frosting
1 tub vanilla frosting
ground nutmeg

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, add pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, and butter and with a hand mixer, mix on low until well blended. Add the dry cake mix and mix on low until well blended.

If desired, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (I always use parchment paper when baking cookies). Or, lightly spray a cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Drop rounded teaspoons of dough or use a small cookie scoop (my preference) onto prepared cookie sheet about 2" apart.

Bake 11-13 minutes or until the edges start to brown. Let cookies cool 1-3 minutes transfer cookies with spatula from cookie sheet to a cooling rack. After cookies have cool completely, frost cookies with the vanilla frosting and lightly sprinkle with ground nutmeg. Makes about 72 cookies. Store in an airtight container.  If you have to layer the cookies in your container, place a piece of wax paper between the layers and I let the cookies air dry overnight so the frosting will crust up a bit so the frosting will not stick very much to the wax paper.

For a single batch
1 box yellow cake mix
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 cup pumpkin
1/4 cup butter, softened

Makes about 36 cookies.  (but you will be sorry you didn't make a double batch)

Ingredients for double recipe cookie, except for the ground nutmeg.  Oops got into the pic by mistake.

Mix together pumpkin, butter, pumpkin pie spice.

All ingredients except cake mix mixed together

Add cake mix to wet ingredients.

Mix until well blended.

I use a small cookie scoop and place cookie dough onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Cooked cookies.

After cookies have cooled, frost with frosting and lightly sprinkle with ground nutmeg.