My family took a trip the week of Thanksgiving and that of course threw me off my schedule.

I always put my Christmas decorations out on Thanksgiving weekend and I am just now doing that. The good news at my house is that both of my college kids will be home this week and as I have said before nothing makes me happier than to have all my &8220;babies&8221; under one roof.

Enough about my house, as promised here are a few more holiday recipes for you to enjoy and share with your friends and family.

If you are like me, once December gets here I know it is time to stock up on certain things in my pantry.

You can&8217;t go wrong this month picking up a extra bag of sugar, some flour, brown sugar, butter and of course you won&8217;t be able to resist picking up a can or more of pumpkin.

After all, aren&8217;t you going to make a pie or two.

Well, just in case you want to venture outside of pumpkin pie here is a great way to use up that extra can you couldn&8217;t resist buying.

Pumpkin cookies with caramel frosting

1 cup margarine, soft

1 cup sugar

1 cup canned pumpkin

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1 cup dried cranberries

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cream margarine, sugar, pumpkin, eggs, vanilla and salt. Sift flour, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda together and then add to the creamed mixture. Add the nuts and cranberries, mixing well. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes (I like a little soft). When they are completely cooled frost with the caramel frosting or sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Caramel Frosting

1 / 4 cup butter

5 tablespoons milk

2 / 3 cups brown sugar

1 1 / 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

1 teaspoons vanilla extract

I promise that Santa would love to see this on his plate with a glass of cold milk or spiced cider.

Christina Hall

can be reached by e-mail at

christina.hall@natchezdemocrat.com