I frequently rolled Halloween fun into birthday fun as a kid, with my November 2 birthday and the bonus of attending Catholic school, which meant always getting November 1 off. But even when I planned a non-Halloween party (like my 10th birthday at Arsenal Bowling Lanes b/c that’s how we rolled (!) in those days with our weekly bowling lessons), I always got the above pumpkin cookies, made by both my mom and dad. The teamwork cookies! They are a very butter-heavy spritz cookie, sandwiched together with chocolate frosting and topped off with a vanilla frosting stem. (Mom does the cookie and chocolate part, and my cake-decorating-expert dad does the green top). But all is not rosy when it comes to these cookies–because of the temperamental spritz gadget, they may have, more than once, ended up in some errr maternal cursing.

I have never made them in my life, never will, and had never even looked at the recipe until this year, but it has been an annual tradition since I can remember. Every time I look at the above picture, I think: it’s not possible to be happier. Not that one can’t be this happy again, but that the look on my face is 100% pure happiness. Oh to be four years old…

When I left Pittsburgh after high school, the cookies showed up at my college mailbox, and four years later, at whatever New York City apartment I was calling home. Like in the above photo! You know what, I think I look just as happy. Yes? Anyway, I always ate them in a disgusting small amount of time (and I just found out the cookie dough alone has 3 sticks of butter eeeeek!) and was looking forward this year to actually “documenting the process.” Don’t they remind you of the Warhol flowers when just the orange parts?

Some pics:

There’s no place like home.

Date: Oct 22nd, 2010 · Comments RSS · Tags: Foodage