Mom’s Awesome Pumpkin Cookies

Salutations: Welcome to Nostalgia 101!
History: These cookies bring back a lot of great memories from my childhood.  My Mom has always been really big into the holidays with decorating around the house and singing the songs and just generally getting everyone else in the spirit of whatever season it may be, so it kind of goes without saying that she jumped at every opportunity to come in and help with all of the Halloween and Christmas and Easter parties that we would have at school during my elementary years.  Her cookies in particular have always been a distinct favorite, so it seemed only fitting to feature her Halloween specialty when I started writing this blog.
Contents: I don’t have the exact recipe handy, however I can certainly say that these are definitely very authentic pumpkin cookies, in that they’re very dense and you can taste the rich flavor of pumpkin from your very first bite.  The frosting is a simple buttercream frosting that she uses for just about everything from cakes to cookies to brownies, so it’s very sweet.  The smiley decorations to give our pumpkins their faces are simply M&Ms here, although I do remember that on occasion she would also make use of candy corn as well.
Benchmark Revealed: With this post, I’m going to be honest and say that at least as far as desserts are concerned, these cookies are very clearly the benchmark to which all other baked pumpkin goods are compared … and not simply because my Mom makes them, but because they’re truly delicious.  There’s no skimping on the pumpkin – you know from the moment you see that goofy smile exactly what you’re getting into, and these cookies soundly deliver on flavor as well as fun.  What better way to relive your childhood than through a cookie that smiles back at you?!