Peanut Butter Pumpkin Lollipop Cookies

Halloween is a week away bloggers, and in honor of one of my favorite holidays, I'm leaving you all with a little less trick and a lot more treat! Check out this Hershey's recipe for Peanut Butter Pumpkin Lollipop Cookies! Combine your love of cookies, candy and chocolate this Halloween, and give all your friends, party goers and trick or treater's a little BOO this year! 

Ingredients:

• REESE'S Peanut Butter Pumpkins(1.2 oz. ea.)*
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup REESE'S Creamy Peanut Butter
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Wooden ice cream sticks
• ROYAL ICING(recipe follows)
• Pastry bags with decorating tips
• Small candy garnishes(optional)

Directions:

· Heat oven to 350°F. Remove wrappers from desired number of peanut butter pumpkins. (Recipe will make up to 34 pumpkin lollipop cookies.) Set aside.

· Beat butter, sugar and peanut butter in large bowl until smooth and well blended. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to peanut butter mixture, beating until blended.

· For each pumpkin lollipop shape 1 level tablespoon dough (about 1/2 oz. dough or #70 scoop) into ball. Place about 6 balls spaced about three inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Insert wooden stick about three-fourths of the way into side of each ball. Flatten balls into oblong disks about 1-1/2 inches long and 1/2 inch high.

· Bake 11 to 13 minutes or until cookie is set and edges are golden brown. Cool 4 minutes. Gently press unwrapped pumpkin on surface of cookie. (Pumpkin bottom will melt enough that it will stick to cookie when cool.) Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. (Do not attempt to pick up cookie by the stick until cookie is cool and chocolate pumpkin has set up. Bake any extra dough following above directions. Cookies can be baked with or without sticks and decorated if desired.)

· Prepare ROYAL ICING. Decorate pumpkins as desired with prepared icing and garnishes. Use icing to "glue" small candies or garnishes to pumpkins. Allow icing to harden. (If you don't like the design or parts of the design, wait until the icing has hardened and then you can remove without damaging the surface of the pumpkin.) Store decorated cookies in a cool, dry place. About 34 cookies.*

* If using snack size (.6 oz.) pumpkins decrease dough ball to 1 teaspoon and bake 8 minutes.

ROYAL ICING: Stir together 2-1/4 cups powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons warm water and 1 tablespoon pasteurized dried egg whites (meringue powder). Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until spreadable. Add additional water, 1 teaspoon at a time, if too thick. Divide icing into small bowls for each color desired and tint with food colorings. Transfer icing to pastry bags with desired tip. Cover icings and tips of pastry bags with damp paper towels to keep icing from drying out. (Some icing garnishes may need a firmer icing to hold their shape. Stir in small amounts of additional powdered sugar to get the desired consistency.) 1 cup icing.