Millenium Cafe Pumpkin Cookies

If you live in Red Deer and haven't had a pumpkin cookie from Café Millenium, you need to. They're amazing. Cushiony-soft little things topped with a magical crack-sauce icing. They're so good that a couple of summers ago, when I was working in an office in the very far north of the city, my co-workers commissioned me to go on a pumpkin cookie run (it took my whole lunch hour to get in and out of downtown, but it was worth it).




I had a top-secret anonymous contact (...) at the Café who got their hands on the original recipe; it's since become one of my sister's specialties a favourite of my family. I've adapted it a bit - partly because the original recipe makes like 100 cookies, partly because I ran out of shortening.

Pumpkin Cookies

à la Café Millenium, with adaptations
Makes 2.5 - 3 dozen

Cookies

3/4 cup Shortening

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup Sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup canned pumpkin

2 cups Flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

Caramel Icing

3 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons milk

1 1/3 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350° F (175° C). Cream together the shortening, butter and sugar; add egg, vanilla, and pumpkin. Combine dry ingredients and add to the pumpkin mixture, taking care not to over-mix. Spoon onto greased or parchment covered cookie sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes.

For the icing, bring the butter and brown sugar to a boil over medium heat, making sure it doesn't burn to the bottom of the saucepan; allow to gently boil for about 1 minute then remove from heat. Cool for 10 minutes, then whisk in the milk and icing sugar. Drizzle over the cookies, and give them at least half an hour to set before storing. Good luck not eating most of it with a spoon.