Pumpkin Spice Kiss Gingerdoodle Blossoms.

 These pillowy pumpkin spice blossoms are inspired by two of my favorite and most popular (and pinned!) fall cookies: 

❤ Cinnamon pumpkin spice kiss blossoms... soft, chewy cinnamon cookies, rolled in sugar, with a white chocolate-pumpkin spice Hershey kiss on top. 

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❤ Gingerdoodles... gingersnaps and snickerdoodles rolled into everyone's new favorite Christmas cookie. 

Anything with a Hershey kiss on top is my favorite thing to bake. That was the first thing I changed when I updated my About Me page! Whether it's peanut butter, chocolate-peppermint, cinnamon spice, or Oreo-stuffed white chocolate raspberry blossoms... I'll be honest: it's all about pressing a chocolate candy into a just-baked cookie and making those signature crinkles.

I love a good sparkling, sugary-crisp crinkle.

This fall, the only thing I wanted to bake (besides everything pumpkin) was a repeat of last year's cinnamon kiss cookies. They were simple, chewy, and full of fall flavor ... and even better when paired with a pumpkin spice latte for breakfast. And after snooping at what you've been pinning lately, I was inspired and determined to combine the sugar & spice swirls of gingerdoodles with the pumpkin spice Hershey kiss of those cinnamon blossoms we're all obsessed with.

There's three parts to these gingerdoodle kiss cookies.

❤ Gingersnap dough

❤ Chilled pumpkin snickerdoodle dough

❤ And pumpkin spice kisses!

Oh... and a quick dunk in a bowl of nutmeg-spiked cinnamon-sugar. I ❤ fall.

Rolled together, it's hard to tell we're baking with two different doughs. Don't worry... all your hard work hasn't gone to waste. Here's a sneak peek at the cookie bottoms!

Gingersnaps meets pumpkin snickerdoodles. 

First up, the gingersnap dough.

If you have ten minutes, you can easily mix together a half-batch of the soft-baked, spicy-sweet gingersnap dough used in my original gingerdoodle recipe. Rich with ginger, cinnamon, and molasses, this recipe needed no improvement (except in quantity!).

Next, the snickerdoodle dough.

Because it's October and let me live, I took things one step further by swapping out the snickerdoodle dough for pumpkin snickerdoodle dough. Pumpkin snickerdoodles have been on my fall to-bake list for the past two or three years and I'm so glad I waited for this moment to test the recipe. With the addition of some fall spices, a few tablespoons of pumpkin puree, a little vanilla, and some extra brown sugar, this cookie dough had all the cinnamon-sugar flavor of the classic snickerdoodle, with the subtle pumpkin flavor I plan on craving from now until December.

Because we're baking with pumpkin, the dough is soft and nearly impossible to roll at room temperature. Chilling the dough for at least one hour (I was too lazy to bake and chilled mine overnight) made the sticky-soft dough pliable enough to roll into balls.

As someone who likes her cookies soft-baked and pillowy, the addition of pumpkin turned these blossoms into the fat, puffy, cinnamon-sugar clouds I was hoping for. Where the original gingerdoodle cookies were thin and chewy, these baked up into perfectly soft (but un-cakey) chewy cookies. And they stay soft! Even several days later.

Last... the pumpkin spice Kisses.

The secret to keeping your chocolate from melting? 

1. Freeze your Hershey Kisses.

2. Allow cookies to cool three minutes out of the oven before pressing your Kisses on top.

3. Place the entire baking sheet into the freezer until chocolate sets.

Simple!

P.S. An anticipated FAQ: I found my pumpkin Kisses at Target. Can't find them in anywhere near you? Try caramel Kisses or use the back of a spoon to make a thumbprint-shape indent and fill with a sprinkle of white chocolate chips!

Pumpkin Spice Kiss Gingerdoodle Blossoms

Printable Recipe

Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Dough

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar 

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 tablespoons pumpkin puree

2 cups all-purpose flour 

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

Pinch of salt  

Pinch of nutmeg

Make snickerdoodle dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the sugar, softened butter, egg, vanilla, and pumpkin. 

Add in the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg and mix on low until thoroughly combined. Let dough chill for at least 1 hour (I chilled mine overnight). 

Gingersnap Dough

6 tablespoons shortening

1/2 cup granulated sugar 

4 tablespoons molasses 

1 large egg

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt 

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 

Make gingersnap dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream together the shortening and sugar. Add the molasses and egg and continue beating until combined. 

Add in the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger and mix on low speed until thoroughly combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

For rolling & making cookie blossoms 

1/2 cup granulated sugar 

1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg

1 package Hershey's Pumpkin Spice Kisses

Freeze pumpkin Kisses. Unwrap pumpkin spice Kisses and place them in a small bowl in the freezer until ready to use. 

Prep. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat baking mat or spray with baking spray; set aside. 

Sugar & spice. In a small bowl, combine the 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and pinch of nutmeg. Set aside.

Combine together. Combine a 1/2 tablespoon of gingersnap dough and a 1/2 tablespoon of snickerdoodle dough together and roll into one dough ball. Toss in cinnamon-sugar and place on prepared baking sheet. Keep snickerdoodle dough in the refrigerator when not using... dough quickly becomes too soft and sticky to handle when at room temperature! 

Bake. Bake for 9-10 minutes, or until done.

Stick a kiss in it. Remove from oven and allow to cool for three minutes on baking sheet. Gently press a frozen pumpkin spice kiss into the center of each cookie. The Kisses will start to get shiny and melt after a just few minutes. At this point, just pop the whole baking sheet into the freezer until the chocolate sets.

Source: Cookie blossoms inspired and adapted from my cinnamon pumpkin spice kiss blossoms and gingerdoodles. 

Cheesecake-Filled Gingerbread Bundt Cake.

It's two thousand and twelve and I have just discovered the bundt pan. 

I've also discovered a few other things. Like... gingerbread is a situation I like finding myself in.

Adding cheesecake is bold. Do it.

Sometimes cake for breakfast is totally a necessary thing. Is it cake if there's no buttercream though? One could argue that it's just a round, cake-y quick bread.

One could argue that every morning for a week.

I've learned that baking gingerbread will make it all about Christmas, all of it, for 40-50 minutes. It's basically baking Christmas spirit.

And on that note: let's discuss how deeply I wish I still believed in Santa.

Maybe it's being an indepedent young lady, living life with a career and a pretty permanent boyfriend and her first ever apartment. Is decorating your own Christmas tree and baking your own Christmas cookies being an adult? I think it might be.

Is reminding yourself to slow down, get off Amazon (you've ordered enough already!), keep calm, eat some gingerbread, and maybe do some laundry what being an adult is all about?

It totally is. And if it's not, don't tell me.

Maybe it's recently finding out I have to change my Christmas plans, from being with family to driving 300 miles back in the opposite direction on Christmas Eve so I can spend Christmas day working. Maybe it's that. That sudden realization definitely ended with an angry white peach margarita Saturday night.

I wish Christmas magic was still as effortless as believing in Santa. I wish that kind of wonder was something I woke up with. But I've learned that, as an adult, Christmas magic is kind of a thing you have to make for yourself. It's a real thing, don't get me wrong, but it's kind of like fitting into your jeans at the end of December. It's not going to happen unless you believe it will... and then get out there in the world and make it happen.

So I make peppermint bark at midnight. I let my boyfriend whisk me away for night of Christmas shopping, eating respectable amounts of deep-dish pizza, and seeing Rise of the Guardians... even though there's at least a hundred five other things I should be doing. I very stealthily fill out Christmas cards at work. I call home. Often. Most importantly... I try and put that magic into somebody else's life.

Sometimes that magic comes in the form of spicy gingerbread cake stuffed with a creamy, sugary cheesecake center. Sometimes that happens. Sometimes it happens for breakfast.

Bundt cakes are way too easy. It's a mix-and-pour situation. And cheesecake centers? Stop it. I can totally make this happen. I'm not always patient and I'm not always as kind as I should be... but I can definitely can bake you a cake and tell you you look nice today.

And you do, really. You totally deserve cake.

This is real Christmas magic. Make it happen! 

Cheesecake-Filled Gingerbread Bundt Cake

Printable Recipe 

Filling
8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg

Cake
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup molasses
Powdered sugar, for dusting over finished cake

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter (or spray with a nonstick baking spray) and flour a bundt pan. 

To make the filling, beat together the softened cream cheese, sugar, flour, and egg, until well combined. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and ginger.

In a medium bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, oil, and molasses until well combined. Whisk into larger bowl with flour mixture until just combined and no clumps of flour remain.

Pour 1/3 of the cake mixture into the bundt pan, using the a rubber spatula to evenly spray to edges. 

Using an ice cream scoop, scoop cheesecake mixture on top of the gingerbead mixture, being careful to keep it in the center and not spread it to the edges. You want it to be a surprise baked inside your cake!

Pour the rest of the gingerbread mixture over the cheesecake, again using a spatula to gently and evenly spread it. 

Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Place wire rack on top of bundt pan and inverse to remove cake. Allow to cool completely. 

Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Source: Group Recipes, originally from Taste of Home.

Gingerdoodles (Or Snickersnaps!).

I'm going to tell you a secret.

Are you ready?

It's December 1st and I'm kind of freaking out. 

Okay, that's not it (it totally is). 

The secret is... I don't like gingersnaps. 

And I'll eat a snickerdoodle if I have to, but I'll most likely glare at you the entire time and, I don't know, put some peanut butter on top of it or something. 

... that's weird. I wouldn't really do that slash I kind of want to right now, don't judge me. 

But I had to make these because 1. You can't not make gingersnaps or snickerdoodles at Christmas. It's like a thing. 

2. I'm obsessed with taking two different cookie doughs and smashing them together. First with chocolate chip cookies, then chocolate and peanut butter, and now I'm messing with these two Christmas classics. But think how much prettier they'll look on a cookie tray!  

And 3. I really, really just wanted to use the words 'gingerdoodles' and 'snickersnaps'. 

It's the little things in life. 

Or in this case, the big things... rolled in cinnamon and sugar and baked til crispy. 

These take a little bit of extra time to put together since you're making two separate doughs, then rolling each in sugar (the gingersnaps) or cinnamon-sugar (the snickerdoodles) before rolling them into one giant cookie.

Here's some tips: 

1. Make the doughs up the day before you want to bake them and chill them until you're ready to roll. Literally.

2. The snickerdoodle dough is crumblier and thicker than the gingersnap dough. Don't freak out! Soften it by kneading it in your hands a few times before rolling it into ball. It'll make it easier to combine with the gingersnaps. 

3. If you want to save time, I totally support skipping the step where you roll each ball in a separate bowl of sugar. Just roll the combined dough ball in the cinnamon-and-sugar. It all gets swirled together anyway!

And, yes I am going to take every. single. picture. from now til New Year's in front of our Christmas tree. 

Gingerdoodles (or snickersnaps, if you will)

Printable Recipe

Snickerdoodle Dough

1/2 cup shortening

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 tablespoon cinnamon + 3 tablespoons granulated sugar for rolling cookies in

Cream together shortening and sugar. Add egg and vanilla and mix well, until creamy. Add flour, baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar and mix until combined. Dough will be a little of crumbly, but it'll come together when you roll it into balls.

Combine cinnamon and 3 tablespoons of sugar in a small bowl and set aside for rolling dough in. 

Gingersnap Dough

3/4 cup shortening

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup molasses

1 egg

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon ginger

1/4 cup granulated sugar for rolling cookies in

Cream together shortening and sugar. Add molasses and egg and continue beating. Add flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger and mix until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Put 1/4 cup sugar in a small bowl and set aside for rolling dough in.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease baking sheets with no-stick cooking spray and set aside.

Roll a small amount of gingersnap dough into a ball and toss in granulated sugar. Roll a small amount of snickerdoodle dough in a ball and toss in cinnamon-sugar.

Place both doughs together and gently roll or squeeze together (it worked best if I kneaded the snickerdoodle dough in my hand a few times before rolling both doughs together since it's a  thicker consistency).

Place on baking sheets and bake for 9-11 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes before moving to cooling racks.

Source: A Year of Cookies.