Pumpkin Blossom Cookies

I've been wanting to make an autumn cookie since September 1st, but I wanted something I'd never tried before - nay, something I'd never even heard of before.

After my mother-in-law gave me a festive bag of Candy Corn Hershey Kisses, the idea struck for...

Pumpkin Blossom Cookies with Candy Corn Kisses!!

It's a play on Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies that I always make at Christmas and they turned out awesomely good. I found a basic pumpkin cookie recipe then totally changed just about everything, and came out with a cookie dough that tastes EXACTLY like pumpkin pie. Seriously. Be careful.

The cookies themselves have the perfect soft texture with just the right amount of spice. The candy isn't that great, it's more the look and festivity that I love, but if you want, you can even leave out the candy topping and just have a plain pumpkin spice cookie.





Ingredients:
(makes about 40 cookies)

4 TBS butter, softened
3/4 C vegetable oil
1/2 C white sugar
1/2 C brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 C pumpkin puree
3 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

1 (11 oz) bag Hershey's Candy Corn Kisses, FROZEN
extra white sugar for rolling the cookies


Preheat oven to to 350 F.

Unwrap 40 candy kisses and place in a bowl and put in the freezer (because these candies are mostly oil and sugar, if not frozen then they melt into a puddle super fast when placed on a hot cookie).

Cream together the butter, oil, and sugars then stir in the egg, vanilla, and pumpkin.

Add the flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix until completely combined then stick in the freezer for about 10 minutes to firm up the dough.

Using your hands, quickly roll into large teaspoon sized balls and roll each cookie in a small bowl of sugar (if the dough starts to get too warm, place in the freezer for 5 minutes).

Place sugar-rolled dough balls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 10-12 minutes. As soon as they are out of the oven, press a Candy Corn Kiss into the center of each cookie, move to a cooling rack, and place in the freezer for several minutes.




This should allow the candies to melt just enough to stick to the cookie without turning into a melted orangey puddle, like this (my first batch):




Try out the recipe, eat a few with a hot cup of tea, and let me know what you think :)