pumpkin

Pumpkin Cookies with Frosting

| Kissablelipsbymikaila

Ingredients:

Pumpkin Spice Cookies:

  • 1/2 Cup Butter (1 stick)
  • 1 Cup Sugar
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 Cup Canned Pumpkin
  • 2 Cups Flour (I used Old Mill Gluten Free)
  • 4 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 2 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp Nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp Ginger
  • 1 Cup Chopped Walnuts or Pecans (optional)

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 1/2 Cup Butter
  • 8 oz block of Cream Cheese
  • 3 tsp Vanilla
  • 4 Cups Powdered Sugar
  • 1 tsp Cinnamon

Directions:

Pumpkin Spice Cookies:

Preheat Oven to 350°F

  1. In a mixer cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
  2. Add eggs and pumpkin and mix well.
  3. Sift flour, baking powder, salt and spices together and fold into cookie batter.
  4. Mix until well blended.
  5. Drop a spoonful of the cookies batter onto a cookie sheet.
  6. Bake in a 350°F oven for approximately 15 minutes.
  7. Allow to cool.
  8. Frost with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting:

  1. Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla in a mixer until blended.
  2. Add powder sugar a cup at a time and continue to mix until sugar is incorporated.
  3. Finally, add cinnamon
  4. Place frosting in large Ziplock bag, cut small portions of corner off of bag, and frost cookies.

Pumpkin Season

| Kissablelipsbymikaila

My husband and I took on the challenge of finding the best pumpkin beer! I picked up 6 varieties at my local liquor store and he was the rests:

*I marked my husbands notes with (S)

Elysian: Night Owl

Bottle Description: Brewed with pumpkin, roasted and raw pumpkin seeds, and spiced in conditioning nutmeg, clove cinnamon, ginger, and allspice.

Our Tasting Notes:

Smell: light pumpkin, cinnamon (S: pumpkin pie)

Taste: cinnamon forward, malty finish (S: not hoppy, malty, spices aren’t too strong)

Dogfish Head: Punkin Ale

Bottle Description: Brown Ale brewed with pumpkin and spices

Our Tasting Notes:

Smell: No real pumpkin aroma, pear/apricot, similar to an Oktoberfest (S: a little spice, but not distinct)

Taste: Malty, coriander, nutmeg (S: brighter in profile to the Night Owl, vague pumpkin spice)

Lakefront Brewery: Pumpkin Lager

Bottle Description: Lager brewed with real pumpkin and spices

Our Tasting Notes:

Smell: Brown sugar, pumpkin (S: some pumpkin, some nutmeg)

Taste: Dark malt, brown sugar, molasses (S: a little sweet, no bitterness, some nutmeg)

Blue Moon: Harvest Pumpkin Wheat

Bottle Description: Brewed with real pumpkin and spices

Our Tasting Notes:

Smell: Brown malt (S: no pumpkin or spice)

Taste: Malty, slight pumpkin, cinnamon after taste (S: no real pumpkin spice)

Shipyard Brewery: Pumpkinhead

Bottle Description: Ale with natural flavors added

Our Tasting Notes:

Smell: strong coriander, nutmeg, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, vanilla (S: coriander)

Taste: cinnamon, not brown ale, lighter in character, slight hop finish (S: very light, not bitter, some spice, mild overall, a little brown sugar)

New Belgium: Voodoo Ranger Atomic Pumpkin

Bottle Description: Pumpkin Ale featuring cinnamon and habanero chili peppers for just the right amount of heat.

Our Tasting Notes:

Smell: Honey (S: not much spice, honey)

Taste: Honey, slight pumpkin front, spice chili pepper finish (S: spicy…literally. Heat is not unbearable. slightly sweet at first, not hoppy, finishes with heat)

Mikaila’s ranking order:

  1. Elysian, Night Owl
  2. Lakefront, Pumpkin Lager
  3. Shipyard, Pumpkin Head
  4. Blue Moon, Harvest Pumpkin Wheat
  5. Dogfish Head, Punkin Ale
  6. New Belgium, Atomic Pumpkin

Scott’s Ranking Order:

  1. Elysian, Night Owl
  2. Dogfish Head, Punkin Ale
  3. Lakefront, Pumpkin Lager
  4. Blue Moon, Harvest Pumpkin Wheat
  5. Shipyard, Pumpkin Head
  6. New Belgium, Atomic Pumpkin

I hope this helps pick your perfect pumpkin beer this season! Enjoy responsibly!

xoxo, Mikaila