Part 1: Baking the Soft Pumpkin Cookies

1. Preheat and Prepare: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. This prevents sticking and ensures even baking.

2. Combine Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Whisking thoroughly ensures the leavening agents and spices are evenly distributed, which is key to a consistent cookie. Set this bowl aside.

3. Cream Butter and Sugars: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium-high speed until the mixture is light, pale, and fluffy. This should take about 2-3 minutes. This step incorporates air into the dough, which is crucial for a soft texture.

4. Add Wet Ingredients: Add the pumpkin puree, room temperature egg, and vanilla extract to the creamed butter and sugar mixture. Beat on medium speed until everything is well combined. The mixture might look slightly curdled or separated at this point due to the high water content of the pumpkin – this is completely normal.

5. Combine Wet and Dry: Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients. Mix only until the flour is just combined. Be careful not to overmix! Overmixing develops the gluten in the flour, which can lead to tough, dense cookies instead of soft, cake-like ones.

6. Scoop and Bake: Using a medium cookie scoop (about 1.5 tablespoons) or two spoons, drop rounded mounds of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches of space between each cookie. They will spread slightly, but not a huge amount.

7. Bake to Perfection: Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges are set and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cookie comes out clean or with moist crumbs attached. The tops should look puffy and feel firm to a light touch.

8. Cool Completely: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. It is essential that the cookies are 100% cool before you attempt to frost them, otherwise the frosting will melt right off.

Part 2: Decorating Your Mummies

This is where the real fun begins!

1. Prepare the Frosting: While the cookies are cooling, make the cream cheese frosting. In a clean mixing bowl, beat the softened cream cheese and softened butter together on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy, with no lumps.

2. Add Sugar and Flavor: Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the sifted powdered sugar. Start with 1 ½ cups. Once incorporated, add the vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy. If the frosting is too thin, add more powdered sugar, a tablespoon at a time, until it reaches a good piping consistency. It should be thick enough to hold its shape but not so stiff that it’s hard to pipe.

3. Set Up for Decorating: Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a small, flat tip (like a basketweave tip, Wilton #44) or a small round tip. If you don’t have a piping bag, you can use a zip-top plastic bag and snip a tiny corner off.

4. Apply the “Glue”: For each cookie, dab a tiny bit of frosting onto the back of two candy eyeballs and press them gently onto the cookie, usually towards the top third. This little bit of frosting acts as glue to hold them in place.

5. Create the Bandages: Now, pipe the frosting back and forth over the cookie in random, overlapping lines to create the look of mummy bandages. Go across, diagonally, and vary the spacing. Leave a little space around the eyes so they can peek through. There’s no right or wrong way to do this – have fun and make each mummy unique!

6. Let Them Set: Allow the frosting to set for about 30 minutes before stacking or serving the cookies. This will help the design stay intact.