Halloween

Did you know that October is national cookie month? Here is a recipe for homemade cookies! Enjoy!

Recipe:

Ingredients

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (substitute wheat flour or half and half if you would like)
¼ tsp. nutmeg
¼ tsp. salt (always optional)
¼ teaspoon ginger
¼ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. baking powder
6 tbs. butter or 3/4 stick (room temperature)
¼ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ cup unsweetened pumpkin puree or pure natural pumpkin filling
3-inch pumpkin shaped cookie cutter (or use whatever you have for somewhat of a round shape)
1 cup of raisins
3/4 cup of natural honey
orange food coloring

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and baking powder. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the brown sugar and beat until fluffy.
3. Add the vanilla and egg yolk. Beat well. Add the pumpkin puree or filling. Blend together.
4. Slowly add the flour mixture.
5. Divide the dough in half. Form into 2 balls. Wrap each ball in wax paper and refrigerate for 1 hour.
6. Preheat the oven to 350°.
7. Between 2 pieces of lightly floured wax paper, roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thick. Use a pumpkin shaped cookie cutter to cut out the cookie shapes. Cut out eyes and mouth using a sharp knife, if the kids are helping, use a sturdy plastic knife and supervise. Put on a baking sheet.
8. Carefully place raisins in the spaces of the cutout eyes and mouth.
9. Bake approximately 12-14 minutes until golden brown. Let cool on the cookie sheet set on top of a cookie cooler rack (or a cake rack).

Yields 4 dozen cookies (more or less depending on what you used for the size of the cookie cutter).

Decorate the cookies with honey drizzle.

Honey mixed with orange food coloring or just plain natural honey.

Stir a few drops (2 or 3) of orange food coloring into 1/2 cup of all natural honey. Drizzle over warm cookies for best results. Stir all of the ingredients together until smooth and easy to spread.

Note: You asked for a Mom, CEO (Chief Everywhere Officer) logo and now we have it on great merchandise at the http://www.parenttoparent.com/ site. ALL MOMS ARE WORKING MOMS!

©2004 Jodie Lynn

Jodie Lynn is an internationally syndicated parenting/family/health columnist. Her latest parenting life and health paperback book is Mommy-CEO: 5 Golden Rules, 2001 revised edition. If you can't order this book on Amazon.com, please let us know. Or, order it from your local bookstore. Check out the Mommy, CEO (and now Mom, CEO) merchandise: caps, sweatshirts, calendars, cups, T-shirt, totes, etc. at http://www.parenttoparent.com/. Lynn is a regular contributor to Healthy Kids on eDiets.com.

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