Pumpkin Gingersnaps

11/12/2014

Here we are in the middle of November - the heart of a very busy season for a lot of us. With Thanksgiving right around the corner and Christmas right on its heels. Everyone's to-do list is longer than normal these days.

I'm finding myself attempting to cram a little more into each day and sleeping a little less just to try and keep my head above water. Fortunately, I do have a few little tricks up my sleeve that get me through my busiest cooking days. One of my favorite not-so-secret tricks that gets me through the holiday season? - frozen cookie dough.

Having cookie dough balls in the freezer has literally saved me from a mental breakdown - more than once. Christmas parties at the kids school, work parties at Ben's office, last minute gifts for teachers and neighbors, etc. I am doing my best to be super chef this month and those little balls of butter and sugar in my freezer are my cryptonite.

I freeze almost all of my cookie dough and most of it I don't even thaw before I bake. (I do add a couple of extra minutes to baking time though.) These pumpkin gingersnap cookies from twopeasandtheirpod.com is especially festive and super freezer friendly.

Pumpkin Gingersnap Cookies
½ cup of butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar, plus more for rolling the cookies
½ cup of pure 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

Beat the butter and sugar together until creamy and smooth.

Add the pumpkin, molasses, egg, and vanilla extract, mix until well combined.

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.

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.