White Chocolate Pumpkin Dreams

Plum Pudding Murder

**This recipe is from Michelle's roommate, Susan, and it's a real winner!**

## Ingredients

**Cookie**

* 1 cup softened salted butter ***(2 sticks, 8 ounces, ½ pound)***
* ½ cup white ***(granulated)*** sugar
* ½ cup brown sugar ***(pack it down in your cup when you measure it)***
* 1 large egg, beaten ***(just whip it up in a glass with a fork)***
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* ¼ teaspoon salt
* ½ teaspoon nutmeg ***(freshly ground is best)***
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon
* ½ teaspoon cardamom ***(or an extra half-teaspoon of cinnamon, but cardamom's really a lot better)***
* 1 cup canned pumpkin\*\*\* ***(I used Libby's)***
	+ \*\*\*Make sure your pumpkin has NO spices added. Some canned pumpkin is already spiced for use in pumpkin pies. You could probably use it if it's snowing outside and your car won't start and it's more than a mile to the store, but just remember that it's somebody else's mixture of spices, not yours.
* 2 cups flour ***(pack it down in the cup when you measure it)***
* 2 cups ***(12-ounce package)*** white chocolate chips
* 1 cup chopped pecans ***(measure after chopping)***

**Susan's Frosting**

* ½ cup brown sugar ***(pack it down in the cup when you measure it)***
* 3 Tablespoons salted butter\*\*\*
	+ \*\*\*That's 1½ ounces or a little less than half a stick—don't worry if you're not super accurate. A little more butter won't hurt.
* ¼ cup milk ***(I used half and half)***
* 1 to 1½ cups powdered ***(confectioners)*** sugar ***(no need to sift unless you have big lumps)***

## Directions

**Cookie**

* Preheat oven to 350°F, rack in the middle position.
* You can either spray your cookie sheets with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray, or line them with parchment paper. Either way will work fine.
* Mix the white sugar with the brown sugar. Stir until the mixture is a uniform color.
* Add the sticks of softened butter and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.
* Add the beaten egg and mix it in thoroughly.
* Stir in the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix them in thoroughly.
* Mix in the nutmeg, cinnamon, and cardamom. ***(Susan uses pumpkin pie spice instead of the freshly ground nutmeg, cinnamon, and cardamom.)***
* Measure out one cup of the pumpkin and add it to your bowl. Stir it in until the mixture is smooth.
* Add the flour in half-cup increments, stirring the batter smooth after each addition.
* Add in the white chocolate chips. Mix them in and then add the chopped pecans. Stir everything in thoroughly.
* Use a teaspoon to scoop out some dough and drop it on your cookie sheet. These cookies will be small, but they spread out when they bake. Place the cookie dough balls 3 to a horizontal row, 4 rows to a cookie sheet.
* Bake the White Chocolate Pumpkin Dreams at 350°F for 12 to 14 minutes, or until they’re firm. ***(Mine took 13 minutes.)***
* Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let the cookies set up for 2 minutes. Then use a metal spatula to remove the cookies from the cookie sheets and transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
* When all the cookies are baked and cooled, it's time to frost them. The following is a wonderful brown sugar frosting that will go well with White Chocolate Pumpkin Dreams.

**Susan's Frosting**

* Combine the brown sugar and butter in a saucepan and bring it to a boil on the stove over medium-high heat.
* Boil the mixture for 1 minute or until it's slightly thickened.
* Pull the saucepan off the heat and cool the mixture for 10 minutes.
* Add the milk ***(or half and half)*** and beat the mixture until smooth.
* Add the powdered sugar by half-cup increments, stirring after each addition. Keep adding the powdered sugar until the mixture reaches spreading consistency.
* Frost the cookies. If you'd like to dress them up a bit, place a half pecan on top of each cookie before the frosting hardens.

**Hannah's Note: I just want to point out that since these cookies are made with pumpkin and pumpkin is a variety of squash, the kids may try to convince you that eating several White Chocolate Pumpkin Dreams takes the place of a serving of vegetables.**

**Lisa's Note: Sometimes I don't have the time to make this frosting, especially when Dad and Herb are standing right there, waiting for the White Chocolate Pumpkin Dreams to come out of the oven. They won't wait for me to cook frosting, so I just sprinkle the cookies with powdered sugar and serve them that way.**

Yield: approximately 6 dozen yummy cookies, depending on cookie size.