Pumpkin cookies with Chocolate Frosting

My friends know I'm not a "baker" but after I cooked fried chicken last night, I need something to make the apartment smell, well not like fried chicken and bacon.  Inspired by the autumnal changes, I decided to make a pumpkin cookie...originally I was going to make the brown butter frosting from Betty Crocker but at the last minute we decided to make a chocolate frosting....talk about one delicious cookie!!  If you don't like frosting you could put chocolate chips in the cookies...I'm just saying the possibilities are endless :)

Ingredients:

Pumpkin Cookie Dough:

2/3 cup white sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie!)
2 eggs
2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt

Chocolate Frosting (aka Chocolate Heaven)

1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup cocoa powder (milk or dark cocoa powder is fine, whatever you have)
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar


1. Preheat oven to 375 and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper
2. Combine dry ingredients (flour through salt) in a bowl and set aside
3. Combine sugars, vanilla and butter and mix on medium until well incorporated (2-3 minutes)
4. Add eggs and pumpkin puree and mix on low until combined (1-2 minutes)
5. With mixer on low speed, slowly incorporate dry mixture, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed
6. Using two spoons (or however you like to put dough on a cookie sheet) transfer or "drop" the dough in equal size balls until sheet is filled (mine was about 8-9 per sheet)
7. Cook 10-12 minutes until cookies are firm but not crunchy
8. Remove to a rack and let cool
9. Repeat with remaining dough
10. While cookies are in the oven, make the frosting
11. Using a hand mixer, combine butter and cocoa power (about 1-2 minutes)
12. Blend in milk and vanilla
13. Add powdered sugar about 1/2 cup at a time so you don't have a sugar explosion in the kitchen
14. When all sugar is well mixed in you are ready to use the frosting!  I recommend you let the cookies cool about 30 minutes before you frost.
15. Eat and enjoy with a cup of coffee or a glass of cold milk