Jack-o-Lantern Pumpkin-Filled Cookies

Just few weeks before Halloween, I had a memory of making filled cookies with jack-o-lantern faces as a child. I could see them in my mind and even taste them! We filled them with apple butter back then, but I thought I would fill these with pumpkin puree and raisins. I took them to a committee meeting and they were a big hit--both charming to look at and delicious to eat.

makes 1 dozen 3" round cookies

One recipe Filled Cookies dough

Pumpkin filling:

1 15-ounce can of pureed pumpkin
1/4 cup unrefined cane sugar (such as Sucanat or Rapadura)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/3 cup raisins or dates

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Make Filled Cookies dough according to instructions, and chill for one hour.
3. While dough is chilling, make the filling. Heat all filling ingredients in a saucepan over low heat, just until unrefined cane sugar dissolves. Allow to cool.
4. After dough is chilled and filling is cooled, cut dough into rounds (I just used the top of a drinking glass).
5. Place on a baking sheet topped with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet.
6. Place a heaping teaspoon of filling in the center and spread over the center of the cookie, leaving about 1/4 inch around the edge without filling.
7. Cut jack-o-lantern eyes and mouths in additional rounds and place on top of the filling.
8. Press edges together with the tines of a fork.
9. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, until just golden around the edges.