Fall favorites

We were invited to a friend's house for dinner this past Tuesday evening, and I asked if I could bring anything and she suggested bread or a dessert. I happened to have everything on hand for Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip cookies....I had been waiting for a few weeks to make these, but didn't want them just sitting around my house! My friend, Sarah, made these cookies for our Bible study when we both lived in Montana (she now lives in Pennsylvania). I LOVED them and immediately asked for the recipe, and after a bit I decided to 'invest' in the cookbook in which she found them, "Best-Loved Cookies." They ended up being the perfect after dinner treat as Gina had prepared a Thanksgiving feast (just a couple months early)! Pumpkin White Chocolate Drops

2 cups butter or margarine, softened

2 cups granulated sugar

1 can (16 oz) solid pack pumpkin

2 eggs

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 bag (12 oz) vanilla baking chips

1 container (16 oz) ready-to-spread cream cheese frosting

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease cookie sheets (or use silpat mat). Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add pumpkin and eggs; beat until smooth. Add flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and baking soda; beat just until well blended. Stir in chips. Drop dough be teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto cookie sheets. Bake about 16 minutes or until set and bottoms are brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets. Remove from cookie sheets to wire rack to cool. Combine frosting and brown sugar in small bowl. Spread on warm cookies. Makes 6 dozen.

Thanks Gina for the wonderful dinner Tuesday night, and Sarah for the original recipe!!

Sign of Fall

The past couple of days have felt like Fall in Cheyenne....rainy and cold. Growing up one of my favorite seasons was Spring, probably because it meant I was getting ready to finish up another school year and I could enjoy the lazy days of Summer. As I've grown older I have begun to appreciate and really enjoy Fall -- the crisp cool air, watching the leaves change color, the excitement of college football, and wearing jeans and sweatshirts! One thing that marks the beginning of Fall in my household is when my husband asks me to pull out his family's pretzel recipe. What a treat it was today when he asked for the recipe this afternoon! Home made pretzels make the house smell wonderful and this time of year we use the oven to help add a little heat in the house (rather than turning on the furnace in August!). The pretzel baker asked that I not post the recipe (not that it's a huge secret) but it's one his family has always used and since I have a few of those myself, I have to respect his wishes. I will leave you with a picture of one thing that marks Fall for us.

And just because I found this so funny, I also had to post my husband's new and inventive "cup holder"! Yes, a beer always accompanies the pretzels.