Rachel

I bought two sugar pumpkins from a farm the other day (we were there doing what any Michigander would be doing in the Fall - playing in a corn maze) and I made Miranda's absolutely wonderful pumpkin cupcakes and still had half of the pumpkin puree left so I made pumpkin cookies for a Halloween party.  They were super moist and cake-like and the chocolate drizzle was surprisingly a great compliment to the pumpkin flavor.  I hope you enjoy!  
You will need:
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1-15oz. can pumpkin puree, OR two cups of homemade pumpkin puree
3/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips


Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375F. In a small bowl, mix together all your spices (these spices combined make "pumpkin pie spice," which you could use instead, if you have it).  I am obsessed with my 1/8 teaspoon, it is so stinkin' tiny and adorable. Don't judge me for my hot pink nails, they were part of my Halloween costume!
In a separate, larger bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin-pie spice, and salt; set aside. (You can see the toasted pumpkin seeds I was snacking on while cooking...I roasted them at 350 for an hour with a little olive oil, salt and cumin - tasty!)
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until they are light and fluffy.  Add the egg and beat until smooth. Turn your mixer to low speed and alternately add flour mixture and pumpkin puree (add a little flour, then a little pumpkin and keep going until it's all been added.)  Keep in mind these cookies are cake-like, so don't over mix them!
Use a tablespoon to scoop dough and place on a cookie sheet (space them about 1.5 inches apart).  Bake them for 8 minutes then rotate the pan, then bake for 8 minutes more (or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.)
After taking your cookies out of the oven, transfer them to a wire rack or a sheet of foil.  

While they are cooling, start melting your chocolate.  To do this, you boil a small pot of water, and place a heat safe bowl inside that pot of water.  Put your chocolate chips in the heat safe bowl and stir until they are melted.  The key to melting chocolate is to remove it from the heat when the chocolate is smooth and shiny looking, if it starts to look dull and dry, then you are overcooking it.  
Wait a few minutes after removing the chocolate from the heat.  Then use a spatula to put the chocolate into a plastic baggy.  Cut a small hole by snipping one of the bottom corners of the baggy (you are making a make-shift icing bag).  

Squeeze the chocolate out of the hole you cut and decorate the cookies however you would like.  I just did a simple zig-zag.  
To set the chocolate, place the cookies in the fridge for about 10-20 minutes.  Remove and enjoy!