This recipe has a special story for me.  First off, I had been using this pumpkin dip for a few years, it tastes like pumpkin pie, but better, because it has cream cheese inside.  This dip goes well with ginger snaps, apples, and anything else you want to dunk in here.   I had been making this combination for a few years, and brought it to my office holiday party.  It won the baking contest for cookies.  Honestly, it is the first baking contest I ever won.   Thanks to Sharon for sharing this recipe, and the ginger snap cookies are my personal favorite recipe adapted from the Joy of Cooking cookbook.

Sharon’s Pumpkin Dip with Ginger Snaps

Ginger Snap Cookies
3 1/2 C. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
4 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. ground cinnamon (Ceylon Cinnamon varieties are my favorite)
2 1/2 sticks butter
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1 1/2 C. sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 C. Molasses
1/2 tsp. lemon extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheets before use. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves in a large bowl and mix until very fluffy. In a different bowl cream together butter and sugar until well combined. Add to the butter and sugar mixture the eggs, molasses, lemon extract. Stir in the flour mixture until blended. Form the dough into 3/4 inch balls and arrange about 1 1/2 inches apart. These cookies do not spread much when baking. Bake 1 sheet at a time for about 12 minutes. The cookies will flatten and develop a crinkled surface as they bake. Let stand briefly and remove to a rack to cool.

Sharon’s Pumpkin Dip
1 14 oz can pumpkin
8 oz. soft cream cheese
1 C. confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

Use a wire whisk to mix together a 14 oz. can of pumpkin, 8 ounces of really soft cream cheese, a cup of confectioners sugar, and a tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice.

If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice in your pantry, substitute 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp each of ground nutmeg, ground ginger and ground clove.