Pumpkin Cut-Out Cookies

We've been looking for pumpkin recipes to try that aren't the standard pie/bread/muffin variety.  Grace found this great alternative to sugar cookies on allrecipes.com.  We tweaked it to our tastes and used her new Ikea animal cookie cutters!  You'll want your dough a bit thicker than you'd roll out standard sugar cookies.

Personally I think the cookies are good enough on their own, but grace suggested a cream cheese/allspice frosting which would probably taste great.  In retrospect we could have sprinkled some raw sugar on before baking, but we'll have to try that next time...

Pumpkin Cut-Out Cookies

• 3/4 cup butter room temperature
  
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup solid pack pumpkin puree
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon each of your favorite spices
• 1 pinch salt (omit if using salted butter)

1. In mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugar, pumpkin, egg yolk, vanilla.
2. Sift together flour, spices, salt. We used ground ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
   
3. Gradually incorporate dry ingredients to the butter mixture.  
4. Form dough into a uniform ball and wrap tightly with plastic wrap.  Chill at least 30 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
6. Roll dough out to 1/4" thick and cut out your favorite shapes.
7. Bake 10-12 minutes (less time if you have a convection oven).