At Tuck & Tate, we think you are never too old for a party favor. It is that little extra that leaves a great impression with guests long after the party is over. Since we always have place cards at Thanksgiving, we thought we would make cookies decorated with everyone’s names as the place card. We adapted this recipe for our pumpkin sugar cookie dough and bumped up the spices in the batter to really give it that fall punch. The cookies are not that sweet, so the frosting is a good and welcome addition. A quick trip to Michaels for some cellophane and ribbon and you have an easy, thoughtful take-home gift. 

Pumpkin Sugar Cookie Place Cards                                                                                                                      
Serving Size: +/- 24 cookies, depending on the shape you cut them                                                           
Prep Time: 15 minutes    Inactive Time: 2 hours    Total Time: 3.5 hours

Ingredients For Cookies:

• 1 cup sugar 
• 3/4 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 egg 
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice  
• 1/2 tsp salt 
• 1/2 tsp baking powder 
• 2 1/2 cups flour 

Ingredients For Royal Icing:

• 1 lb powdered sugar 
• 2 tbs meringue powder (you can buy this at Michaels or any baking store) 
• 2 tsp vanilla extract 
• 5-6 tbs water 
• food coloring of your choice (use the gel type that won’t thin the icing)

Directions:  

1. Beat the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the egg, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract, mixing until well combined. 
2. Add the cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, salt, baking powder, and flour to the bowl. Mix on a low speed until the batter is just absorbed, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary with a spatula to make sure everything is combined. Pour the dough onto a large sheet of plastic wrap. Wrap well and refrigerate for at least two hours, or overnight. 
3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 
4. Use a small handful of flour to coat a countertop for rolling out the dough. Roll the dough until it is roughly 1/2 inch thick. Use the cookie cutters of your choice to cut out the cookies, placing them onto a baking sheet. 
5. Bake the cookies for 6-7 minutes. They might appear pale, but they will be cooked through. Remove from the oven and cool completely.
6. While the cookies are cooling, make the icing. Put the powdered sugar and meringue powder through a sieve to make sure it doesn’t have any lumps. Add the vanilla, water, and food coloring to the mix, whisking to combine. When the cookies are completely cool, use a small tip piping bag to decorate the cookies with your guests names. Let the icing dry for at least an hour before placing into cellophane bags.