Pumpkin-Shaped Sugar Cookies (Print Version)

Ingredients:

01 - Butter: 2 sticks (16 tablespoons), softened (salted butter).
02 - Brown Sugar: ½ cup.
03 - Granulated Sugar: ¾ cup, divided.
04 - Egg: 1 large, beaten.
05 - Vanilla Extract: 1 teaspoon, pure.
06 - Baking Soda: 1 teaspoon.
07 - Cream of Tartar: 1 teaspoon.
08 - Kosher Salt: 1 teaspoon.
09 - All-Purpose Flour: 2 cups.
10 - Orange Gel Food Color.
11 - Green Gel Food Color.

Instructions:

01 - Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
02 - In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and kosher salt. Set aside.
03 - In a large mixing bowl, beat together the softened butter and sugars until creamy and light. Add the beaten egg and mix until well combined. Then, add the pure vanilla extract and mix further.
04 - Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Mix until just combined, being careful not to overmix.
05 - Divide the cookie dough into two portions.
06 - Add orange gel food color to one portion of the dough to achieve the desired orange color for the pumpkins. Add green gel food color to the other portion for the stems.
07 - Use the orange dough to form balls. Place these balls onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Use a glass with a flat bottom (or a measuring cup) dipped in granulated sugar to flatten each ball into a disc. Press a small dimple into the top of each pumpkin (where the stem will go). Use a paring knife to carefully cut four rounded slits onto each pumpkin to resemble the lines on a pumpkin.
08 - Use the green dough to form small cone shapes for the stems. Press the narrow end of each cone into the dimple at the top of each pumpkin.
09 - Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes or until the bottoms of the cookies are lightly browned but not dark.
10 - Cool the cookies completely on a wire cooling rack.
11 - Use a paring knife to add two small slits to the stem if desired.
12 - Continue the same process with the remaining dough.

Notes:

01 - Freezing the Dough: The colored cookie dough can be frozen before shaping and baking the cookies.
02 - Freezing Baked Cookies: The pumpkin sugar cookies can be frozen after baking.

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