Spice Doodles

These are along the lines of traditional snicker doodles, only no cream of tartar, and instead of rolling them in cinnamon sugar, you roll them in pumpkin pie spice sugar. Pumpkin pie spice contains cinnamon, mace, nutmeg, allspice, ginger and cloves, so you get a more complex flavor in these otherwise simple cookies. And I've got to say, the texture is just about perfect.

I didn't happen to have pumpkin pie spice on hand, but I did have Penzey's Cake Spice, which has all the same ingredients except anise instead of mace, so I gave that a whirl. Delicious. These are the kind of cookies that are equally popular with kids and adults. And very popular with milk.

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 T sugar

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1. Lightly grease a cookie sheet, or line with parchment or silicone; set aside. In a large mixing bowl beat butter and shortening on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder and salt. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in flour. Cover and chill dough about 1 hour or until easy to handle.

2. Preheat oven to 375. In a small bowl stir together 2 T sugar and pumpkin pie spice. Shape dough into 1-inch balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 11 minutes or until edges are golden. Let stand for 1 minute on cookie sheet. Transfer to wire rack and let cool.