1 cup butter or shortening at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup pumpkin (canned or fresh)
1 whole egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon each: baking powder, soda and cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup each: raisins and chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Frosting (recipe follows)

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Blend in pumpkin, egg and vanilla, mixing well.

In another large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon and salt. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture, blending well.

Stir in raisins and nuts. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets. Bake in preheated 375 degrees oven 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Frosting:

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar

In a small saucepan over medium heat, cook brown sugar, milk and butter about 2 minutes. Let cool. Stir in vanilla and powdered sugar. If too thick to spread, add a little more milk. If too thin, add more powdered sugar. Spread on cooled cookies.

A word about baking Any type cookie...

Do your cookies always come out of the oven almost burnt on the bottoms before they are baked in the center?

Solve this easily! Go invest in Decent baking sheet pans, at least Two of them. Buy what are called 'Jelly Roll Pans,' which are simply half a sheet cake pan in size.

When baking cookies, 'double pan' them. Place the pan with the cookies in an empty pan the same size. That's it! The double layer of metal will keep your cookie 'bottoms' from burning. It may take a couple of minutes longer to bake a doubled pan of cookies, but no more over baked cookies!

Also Never Ever over mix cookie dough. You can beat the daylights out of that butter/sugar part, but once you add Flour, just mix it well, then stop. Over mixing after adding the flour will make your cookies...tough enough to build a wall.