Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

Pumpkin Spice Cookies:

• 1/2 Cup Butter (1 stick)
• 1 Cup Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1 Cup Canned Pumpkin
• 2 Cups Flour (I used Old Mill Gluten Free)
• 4 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Salt
• 2 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp Ginger
• 1 Cup Chopped Walnuts or Pecans (optional)

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1/2 Cup Butter
• 8 oz block of Cream Cheese
• 3 tsp Vanilla
• 4 Cups Powdered Sugar
• 1 tsp Cinnamon

Directions:

Pumpkin Spice Cookies:

Preheat Oven to 350°F

1. In a mixer cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Add eggs and pumpkin and mix well.
3. Sift flour, baking powder, salt and spices together and fold into cookie batter.
4. Mix until well blended.
5. Drop a spoonful of the cookies batter onto a cookie sheet.
6. Bake in a 350°F oven for approximately 15 minutes.
7. Allow to cool.
8. Frost with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting:

1. Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla in a mixer until blended.
2. Add powder sugar a cup at a time and continue to mix until sugar is incorporated.
3. Finally, add cinnamon
4. Place frosting in large Ziplock bag, cut small portions of corner off of bag, and frost cookies.

Recipe Adapted from Two Sisters Crafting

Juicy Turkey Roasted in Cheese Cloth

Ingredients:

• One 10-pound Turkey (neck and gizzards removed)
• 2 Tablespoons Kosher salt
• 1 Head of garlic (halved through its equator)
• 4 Sprigs of fresh Oregano
• 4 Sprigs of Fresh Thyme
• 1 Lemon (quartered)
• 1 Onion (peeled and quartered)
• 1 Fennel Bulb (quartered)
• 1/4 Cup Picked Fennel Fronds
• 8 Tablespoons (1 stick) Unsalted Butter 
• 1/4 Cup Chicken Stock or Turkey Stock or Water

Directions:

1. The day before roasting, set the turkey on a clean kitchen towel, and pat dry. Season the turkey inside and out with the salt. Wrap the turkey in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours.
2. Remove the turkey from the refrigerator 1 to 2 hours prior to roasting to bring to room temperature.
3. Preheat the oven to 425°F with the oven rack set on the lowest rung.
4. In the turkey's neck cavity, place a few cloves of the garlic, a few sprigs of oregano, a few sprigs of thyme, and a quarter of the lemon. Wrap the neck skin over and around the cavity to enclose the seasoning ingredients.
5. In the body cavity, place half of the remaining garlic, half of the onion, half of the fennel, the fennel fronds, 2 lemon quarters, and half of the remaining oregano and thyme.
6. Place the turkey, breast side up, on a rack set into a large roasting pan. Fold the wings and tuck the tips underneath the bird.
7. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the remaining garlic, onion, fennel, lemon, oregano, and thyme to the pot with the stock or water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat so that the liquid simmers, and continue to cook at a lower simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
8. When cool enough to handle, soak a double layer of cheesecloth big enough to cover the bird in the butter mixture and drape over the breast and legs of the turkey. Pour the remaining contents of the pan over the bird, pushing the pieces of vegetable and herbs into the bottom of the roasting pan. 
9. Place the turkey in the oven and roast for 45 minutes (there will be the distinct possibility of smoke depending on how clean your oven is). Turn the oven temperature down to 375°F, and continue to roast for another 15 to 20 minutes per pound (remove the cheesecloth for the final 10 minutes to brown, if needed), or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a thigh registers 160°F (about 3 hours). Remove the turkey from the oven and allow to rest for 20 minutes before carving.

~Recipe from Michael Symon