October 28, 2011 | 3:18 pm

The Way to a Man’s Heart is Through His Stomach

Posted by Tamara Shayne Kagel

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I showed up this morning at my boyfriend’s apartment at 6 am with three dozen pumpkin cookies.  Perhaps I’m not the most naturally domestic girl I know, but every so often I feel inspired.  He’s had to put up with a lot from me lately and I wanted to do something nice and surprising for him to let him know how much I appreciate him.  However, being flat out broke lately left me with only two options - making something or baking something.  Seeing as Halloween is approaching, I thought it timely to make something sweet that he could bring with him to work.  He seemed delighted this morning and it’s just brightened my whole day knowing how happy something so small can make him. 

I’m including the recipe from All Recipes below.  I think they came out tasting pretty good but unfortunately I was a little embarrassed by how they looked.  The consistency of the dough made it really hard to get them into smooth balls before I baked them so they turned out a bit misshapen which made them look even funnier when I iced them.  Perhaps a more seasoned chef would have known how to fix this but Mr. DB didn’t seem to care. 

Now, I have to figure out our Halloween costumes for our big plans this weekend.  So far I’ve narrowed it down to my favorite 2011 sex scandals: Anthony Wiener and pregnant Huma Abedin, Dominque Straus-Kahn and Sofitel maid, Ghadaffi and Ukranian nurse, Schwarzenegger and maid, Silvio Berlusconi and teenage girl…I’ll keep you posted on what we decide.  Enjoy your trick or treat!

Iced Pumpkin Cookies
Ingredients

  2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  1 teaspoon baking powder
  1 teaspoon baking soda
  2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  1/2 teaspoon salt
  1/2 cup butter, softened
  1 1/2 cups white sugar
  1 cup canned pumpkin puree
  1 egg
  1 teaspoon vanilla extract
   
  2 cups confectioners’ sugar
  3 tablespoons milk
  1 tablespoon melted butter
  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.
In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then drizzle glaze with fork.
To Make Glaze: Combine confectioners’ sugar, milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add milk as needed, to achieve drizzling consistency.

Tamara Shayne Kagel is a writer living in Santa Monica, CA. To find out more about her, visit www.tamarashaynekagel.com and follow her on twitter @tamaraskagel. © Copyright 2011.