An attitude of gratitude, and the birth of a cookie.

I know, it's a random post title...humor me...

:o}

First, let's talk gratitude. It seems somewhat surreal that today is November 1st. {How did that happen?} As we celebrate Thanksgiving in America at the end of this month, November is a month for giving thanks, for being grateful for the many blessings we have. For the most part I think I'm pretty good at being mindful of my blessings, but November just seems like the time to step up the gratitude gig.

♥
Yes, November is the time for an attitude of gratitude.
And food made with pumpkin.
♥

I've been wanting to find a good pumpkin cookie recipe so this past weekend I did a little internet searching and found one {here}. I changed it up a bit by adding extra vanilla and cinnamon, used 1/2 brown sugar and 1/2 white sugar, and I added a sprinkle of ground cloves.

I wanted to try the recipe with a few variations ~ different things mixed in ~ and Doug was assigned the taste-testing duties. {Poor Douglas...I do ask a lot of him at times...}

The first batch I made a larger cookie, and frosted them with a cream cheese frosting a friend of mine had made. VERY yummy!!! (Doug ended up liking this version the best.)

Second batch: same as the first, just a smaller version and not as much frosting. These were good, but after the first batch with all that yummy frosting they seemed a bit weak.

Third batch: I mixed in some chocolate chips thinking this would be the winner. Never in my life have I made this statement, and I pray that I will never have cause to make it again, but here it goes: the cookies tasted awful with chocolate mixed it. ~sigh~

Fourth batch: Doug protested when he heard that I was putting butterscotch chips on top. "I'm not really crazy about butterscotch chips..." Turns out they were really good and Doug changed his mind after the first bite!
Fifth and final batch: These had raisins and pecans mixed in, with a little frosting piped on top. These were really good and ended up being my personal favorite.

A big thank you to my accommodating hubby for all that exhausting tasting. This recipe is a winner and I'll definitely be baking these again during the holidays. I plan to tie them up in pretty packages for door-to-door gift giving with our neighbors.

How about you? Are you starting to think about holiday baking?
♥

I plan to end every November post with a little gratitude. So:
* I am grateful that I have the means to buy groceries to make cookies whenever I want.
* I am grateful for an oven that works really well.
* And I'm grateful for a sweet husband to help eat the goods.