Pumpkin GInger Snaps

These are the ultimate Christmas cookie.  They are soooo soft and yummy and I could eat a million of them! Plus, pumpkin is on sale right now!

Pumpkin Gingersnap Cookies

Yield: 3 dozen cookies

Cook Time: 10-12 minutes

½ cup of butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar, plus more for rolling the cookies
½ cup of pure pumpkin (I used Libby's canned pumpkin)
¼ cup of molasses
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt

directions:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until creamy and smooth. Add the pumpkin, molasses, egg, and vanilla extract, mix until well combined.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until combined. Refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 1 hour. The dough can be chilled for 2-3 days.

3. When you are ready to bake, preheat oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper. Place sugar in a small bowl. Roll tablespoon-sized balls of dough in sugar until well coated and place on prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10–12 minutes, or until cookies look cracked and set at the edges. The cookies will still be soft. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a 2-3 minutes after removing them from the oven, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Honey Butter Pull Apart Rolls

Okay, I made these tonight for my hubbies birthday and YUM!  I love how they look and taste.  The butter and honey is slathered in and on them before you bake them.  I also thought these were much easier than they look, bonus when bringing a dish to someone's house!  I will be making these little gems for years to come!  Give them a go sometime soon...

Honey Butter Pull Apart Rolls

http://www.highheelsandgrills.com/2012/10/honey-butter-pull-apart-rolls.html

1-1/2 cups hot water {as hot as you can get it out of the tap.}

1 Tbsp. active dry yeast

2 Tbsp. sugar

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 tsp. salt

3-1/2 to 4 cups bread flour {or all-purpose flour is fine)

3/8 cup (3/4 stick) salted butter, melted

3 Tbsp. honey

3/4 tsp. salt


*Note: I did this in my stand mixture with my dough hook and it was the easiest thing ever. Hand mixing should work well too, but I highly recommend it in a stand mixer if you have one!*


Spray a large bowl with cooking spray; set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together water, yeast, and sugar; let stand until frothy, about 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the oil, salt, 2 cups of flour, and the yeast mixture until well combined.

Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl and is no longer sticky.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until elastic, about 8 minutes.

Place the dough in the greased bowl and cover with a damp cloth; let rise in a warm place until doubled in size.

After doubled, punch down dough and lay on floured surface.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Roll dough out until about 20 inches by 12 inches.

In a small bowl, combine butter, honey, and salt.

Brush dough with half of the butter mixture.

With a pizza cutter, cut dough lengthwise into sixths and crosswise into twelfths.

Make stacks of 4 dough squares and place each stack into a greased muffin tin cup.

Brush with the remaining butter mixture.

Bake for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve warm.