Give Thanks- Pumpkin Sugar Cookies

Kelly from Eat Yourself Skinny

Hello there lovely readers of Whatever Dee-Dee Wants!  I’m Kelly from Eat Yourself Skinny and I was so excited when Miss Dianna asked me to be a part of her Give Thanks Series!

Ok so I must tell you…I absolutely love Thanksgiving.  It’s a time to spend with friends and loved ones, a time to bundle up in cute scarves and boots and take pictures in the leaves, and a time to enjoy really, really delicious food!  Yeah you know what I mean, the usual turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, Grandma’s signature green bean casserole, etc.  But what about the fun desserts??

Friends I give you my delicious {lightened up version} of Pumpkin Sugar Cookies!  I had so much fun making these and was really surprised at how simple they were.  To make them “skinnier”, I used egg whites and substituted the sugar with Splenda Sugar Blend which lowered the calories tremendously.  Since there is already a lot of sugar used to make the icing, Splenda works perfect for your cookies!  Oh and speaking of icing…if you’ve ever heard of piping and flooding Royal Icing then you know how gorgeous cookies turn out when using that method.  And you also know how daunting the task can be if you’ve never tried it.  Yikes.

I’ll admit this was my very first attempt at making {and using} Royal Icing, but truth be told I LOVED it!!  I, of course, went to the Queen of cookie decorating herself, Bridget from Bake at 350, for help and found some amazing tutorials!  This made the process so much easier and I’m happy to share that knowledge now with all of you.

The end result?

Super cute pumpkin cookies fit for any special gathering or holiday party.  They also make great gifts!  I brought mine to work for all my co-workers and everyone loved them.

Now onto the recipe.

Here are your ingredients:

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light and Sugar Crafter   

Cookies

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup granulated sugar

10 Tbsp. light butter, softened

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 large egg whites

Royal Icing

1 lb. powdered sugar

5 Tbsp. meringue powder

Scant 1/2 cup water

1 tsp. corn syrup (makes the icing shiny)

To make the cookies, lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups and level with a knife.  Combine flour, baking powder, and salt, stirring well with a whisk.  Place granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy.  Beat in 1 1/2 tsp. of vanilla and egg whites.  Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating at low speed just until combined.  Divide dough in half and shape each dough half into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap.  Chill for about an hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Unwrap one dough ball and press dough into a 4-inch circle on heavy-duty plastic wrap.  Cover with additional plastic wrap.  Roll dough, still covered, to a 1/4 inch thickness {this is important because if your cookies are too thin they’ll be crunchy and not soft}.  Using your cookie cutter, cut dough into 18 cookies.  Place cookies 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.  Bake at 375 for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool on pans for about 5 minutes and repeat the process with the remaining dough half.

To prepare the icing, please refer to Bridget’s wonderful tutorial on how to make Royal Icing and tips for decorating.  I can’t take the credit for her wonderful work!  Once your cookies are dry, mix a bit of meringue powder and water together and, using a paint brush, paint lines onto your pumpkin with the mixture and sprinkle with sprinkles.  You will be amazed at how easy the sprinkles stay on!  This technique is perfect for any cookie!

Don’t forget to buy cute little gift bags and ribbon to package these for your friends and family, trust me they will love them!

Thanks again Dianna for inviting me to your Give Thanks Series!  For more skinny recipes, or even just to say “HI”, feel free to stop by my blog any ‘ole time!

XOXO