Cooking Pumpkin
To cook pumpkin, wash and cut it in half crosswise. Remove seeds and strings. Place it in a pan, shell side up, and bake it in a 325^o oven for 1 hour or more, depending on size, until it is tender and begins to fall apart. Scrape the pulp from the shell and put it through a ricer, strainer, blender or food processor.

Pumpkin Cookies
A spicy cookie with a mealy, rather unusual texture.

Preheat oven to 375^o

Cream together:
1 cup butter or shortening
1 cup sugar
Add and mix well:
1 cup cooked pumpkin
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
Stir together and add to above mixture:
2 cups sifted all purpose flour
1 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon allspice
Stir in (optional):
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup raisins

Drop cookies onto a well-greased cookie sheet and bake about 15 minutes.

Cream Cheese Icing
(optional but, seriously, you want this stuff)

Sift:
¾ cup confectioners’ sugar
Work until soft and fluffy:
3 oz. cream cheese
1½ tablespoons cream or milk
Beat in the sugar gradually and then add:
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon cinnamon
red and yellow food coloring (optional)