Baking Pumpkin Cookies

The news in my hometown is unbearably heavy right now. There is nothing to say that has not been written, reported, tweeted, dissected, blogged, or talked about over and over and over again. And none of it is good--the story is too horrific to comprehend or understand.  We here in a once happy valley are still Penn State, but our hearts are broken and our souls are sickened. 

This morning, after a fitful night of light sleep, an early cup of coffee, and a cursory glance at the newspaper (a rehash of late night ESPN reports), I decided to bake.  Following a spattered recipe, I assembled ingredients and started stirring together pumpkin cookies, a seasonal favorite family sweet.  I thought this recipe may fill better this space than the lament I feel, so here it is--an oldie goodie:

Pumpkin Cookies

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon. salt
1 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped nuts (or raisins)

Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

Cream shortening and sugar.  Add pumpkin and egg. Beat well.  Add sifted flour mixture.  Stir.  Add vanilla and nuts.  Drop by generous teaspoonful on greased  (or parchment covered) baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.  Cool.

Frosting

3 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons milk
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup powdered sugar sifted

Combine butter, milk, and brown sugar in saucepan.  Heat to boiling.  Boil 2 minutes, stirring constantly.  Cool slightly, stir in powdered sugar and vanilla.  Immediately frost cookies.

And then...sit quietly with a couple cookies, a cup of tea, and while you do, please say a prayer to end all forms of abuse, sending one up especially for all those children who are not protected when they should be.