Every year our families gather around the table to give thanks for all that is good in our lives. While we toast to our good health and our continued good fortunes throughout the year, we should also take a moment and give thanks for cookies. Cookies are warm, delicious mouthfuls of joy and I for one am very grateful to have them in my life. This Thanksgiving, why not try something new with these fun and easy recipes…

Pumpkin Meringue

It just isn’t autumn without pumpkin flavored everything and while recipes for pumpkin and chocolate or pumpkin and oatmeal or pumpkin and peanut butter abound, why not just enjoy pumpkin all by it’s lonesome? You can with this simple pumpkin meringue cookie.

Ingredients:

  • 4 large egg whites
  • 1 Tbsp white vinegar
  • 1 tsp cornstarch
  • ¾ tsp liquid pumpkin spice extract
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • ¾ tsp nutmeg

Directions:

  • 1)Preheat oven to 200 degrees
  • 2)Whisk egg whites in a clean bowl for 30 seconds or until frothy
  • 3)Add in vinegar, cornstarch, and pumpkin spice extract
  • 4)With the mixer on high, beat the ingredients while adding sugar in a slow, steady stream
  • 5)Beat on high for an additional 4 minutes until peaks form
  • 6)Pipe mixture onto parchment paper lined baking sheet (*hint* use a quart sized plastic bag with a corner cut off for easy design making)
  • 7)Sprinkle nutmeg on top of cookies for added color and flavor
  • 8)Bake at 200 degrees for 80 minutes
  • 9)Turn off the oven and let meringues sit for at least 4 hours (or overnight) – DO NOT open oven door during cooking or cooling
  • 10)Once set, remove from tray and enjoy!

Apple Pie Cookies

It’s very difficult for me to choose a favorite dessert since there are such a variety of tastes, textures, and styles, but during Thanksgiving it’s always a hard choice between cookies or pie. If you don’t like to choose, but eating both is too much food, just try this ingenious recipe for apple pie cookies. The best part about this recipe is that you can just as easily make it from scratch or using pre-made ingredients. Who said you can’t have your pie and eat it in cookie form too?

Ingredients:

  • 2 homemade or store bought, ready-to-bake pie crusts
  • 1 cup caramel sauce
  • 1 ¾ cups apple pie filling (canned or fresh made)
  • 1 egg – lightly beaten
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ¼ cup sugar

Directions

  • 1)Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  • 2)Lay out one pie crust and add caramel sauce in a thin layer
  • 3)Spread apple filling across caramel, using a spatula or your palms to ensure an even layer
  • 4)Cut remaining pie crust into ½ inch strips and lay over apple mixture in a lattice pattern (*hint* there are plenty of ways to get creative with your top crust so don’t think you have to do just the normal criss-cross)
  • 5)Using a round cookie cutter, cut out cookies and place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet
  • 6)Brush the tops of cookies with the lightly beaten egg and sprinkle cinnamon and sugar over generously
  • 7)Bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown
  • 8)Cool, serve, and enjoy! (Maybe along with a bowl of vanilla ice cream)

Plain Sugar Cookies

After the two delicious recipes above, you may be wondering how a plain old sugar cookie made the list. Well, this one isn’t so much about the cookie itself, but more about the act of making it. Nothing is an easier (or more delicious) way of occupying the kids than setting them down at the table to decorate sugar cookies. Start with a plain sugar cookie, either store bought or homemade and bake accordingly. Allow your cookies to cool completely before decorating them. You can use anything and everything for decorating, but there are a few good supplies to always have on hand…

Tools:

  • Plain white royal icing
  • Variety of food coloring
  • Rubber or latex gloves (for use when mixing colors)
  • Quart freezer bags for use as piping bags
  • Decorative icing tips
  • Spatulas
  • Toothpicks
  • Food color markers
  • Paint brushes
  • Parchment paper

When it comes to the holidays, let’s be thankful that we have happy homes and healthy families, but let us not also forget to be thankful for the abundance of cookies there are to make and enjoy. Try one of our delicious recipes and your taste buds may just end up thanking you this Thanksgiving.