How to Make the Most Out of Fall

We're already half-way through, so if you haven't already it's time to dive into fall! (Or a pile of leaves...) Read on for a check list of activities that you really shouldn't miss out on while fall is still here, as well as a darn good fall-time cookie recipe that is sure to become your newest autumn tradition.

For starters, this Pumpkin Spice Cookie recipe is a gem no holiday baker should be without. I've been baking these every autumn for three years now, and I have yet to find a more worthy autumn treat. Long after they're fresh from the oven these cookies remain soft and floury as bread, and the icing drizzled on top balances the perfect amount of sweet with their spiced pumpkin flavor; they're easy to make and impossible not to like!

Until recently I've always used canned pumpkin puree to make these cookies, but the last time I went to the store to buy ingredients they were all out. Instead, I improvised with a small pumpkin and made my puree from scratch. My cookies ended up with a distinctively fresher taste, and I had pumpkin seeds to roast as an added bonus. For directions on how to make your own pumpkin puree, see the reference link below this article.

For the cookies, you'll need:
1 cup of each: granulated sugar, vegetable shortening, pumpkin puree
1 egg
2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of each: baking soda, baking powder, vanilla, cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of salt

For the icing:

1/2 cup of packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons of butter
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup of confectioner's sugar

Directions:

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl; stir in the vanilla and cinnamon and then set aside.

Beat the sugar and shortening with a mixer on medium speed until the mixture is creamy; add the pumpkin puree, and beat just until the ingredients are all mixed together. Add the egg and 1/4 a cup of the flour mixture, set the beater speed to low, and beat--again, just until all ingredients are mixed. Repeat this process, beating after each addition of the flour mixture.

Once the dough is prepared, drop it in generous teaspoon-size dollops onto a cookie sheet. Put the sheet into the oven to bake until the cookies are barely brown--this should take about 15 to 20 minutes.

Once the cookies are in the oven, I start on the icing: combine the brown sugar, butter, milk and vanilla in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat the mixture on high until the brown sugar melts (this should take about 1 ½ minutes), and remove the icing mixture from the microwave. Stir in the confectioner's sugar until icing is smooth.

Spoon icing over each cookie once they're out of the oven and have had time to cool.

Spend Some Time Outside

There's a harvest-full of good seasonal food to keep you in the kitchen all season long! Definitely take advantage of the autumnal cuisine, but remember that summer's giving way to fall is no reason for us to shut ourselves indoors just yet. When autumn comes, I usually picture myself outside curled up in a big cozy sweater on a park bench with some hot tea and a book. Sometimes it's enough just to notice the prettiest leaves on the ground, or smell the sweetness in the air from the aging leaves, or listen to them crunch under people's shoes as they walk by. There's something about the autumn air that is remarkably refreshing. Take a step outside and be inspired.

Other ways to experience autumn-y bliss out of doors:
Go apple picking.

Visit a pumpkin patch.

Find a corn maze, and then get lost.

Go on a nature walk.

Cook up some s'mores over a bonfire.

Round up a couple teams for football at the park.

Fire up the grill for one last time before winter starts with some friends, some drinks, and some bobbing-for-apples.