Sweet!

The lovely and crafty Claire sent me a set of cute cookie cutters in fall shapes recently and I couldn't wait to use them! I decided to use the maple leaves to make these sandwich cookies. I've made these raspberry sandwich cookies for Christmas the past two years, and loved the dough so much I had to try something new with it. I swapped the mascarpone for cream cheese since it was all I had in the fridge, and it worked just as well! The batch went to the office with E and was gone in minutes. Honestly, I know the same would be true if I sent in some grocery store donuts, so I'm not all that flattered by his coworkers' tastes. I tried one, though, and they were pretty f'in good! So yeah, that's why E got to take them to work. I have a dress to get into next weekend!

Pumpkin Maple Buttercream Sandwich Cookies:

For Dough:
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
dash of salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1/2 cup cream cheese, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups flour

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Beat butter on medium speed for 30 seconds until pale and fluffy. Add sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg and beat until combined. Beat in vanilla, egg, and cream cheese, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in as much flour as possible using your mixer, 1/2 cup at a time. Fold in any remaining flour with a wooden spoon. Divide your dough in half. *If you want to, you may wrap in plastic wrap and chill for an hour or two, but it's not necessary. This dough is easy to work with! You can also freeze it for up to two months.
On a lightly floured surface, roll half of dough to a 1/8 inch thickness and cut into shapes. Bake on a cookie sheet lined with a Silpat or parchment paper for 5-6 minutes or until edges just start to brown. *Keep an eye on them as they will burn quickly! Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely before frosting.

For Frosting:
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 tsp. maple syrup
1 lb. confectioner's sugar

Beat pumpkin and butter until well combined. Add cinnamon, ginger, salt, vanilla, and maple syrup and beat until combined. While your mixer is running at medium speed, add sugar 1/2 cup at a time. You may not need the entire pound, so taste it and see! Also, don't worry if the frosting looks a little grainy as you start adding sugar. It will become nice and fluffy!

I used about a teaspoon if frosting to sandwich cookies together, then used a little melted chocolate to pipe on veins for the leaves. You can use more frosting, but it will squeeze out when you bite into the cookies! However, if sweet and messy is your thing, then go for it!

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