Cream 1 c. solid Crisco with 1c. sugar and 1 egg. Add 1 c. canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling, but you already know that). Sift all the dry ingredients together : 1 tsp each baking soda, cinnamon, and baking powder and 2 c. flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 c. chopped pecans or walnuts, 1/2 c. raisins. Add it all to the wet ingredients and add 1 tsp vanilla. Drop by generous tablespoons onto greased cookie pans.
Bake in a preheated 350 oven for about 10-12 minutes. They should just be just barely firm on top, don't let them brown. Cool before frosting.
To make the icing, cook 3 TB butter with 1/2 c brown sugar and 3-4 tsp milk just to the boiling point, then cool and add 3/4 tsp vanilla and 1 c. powdered sugar. This frosts about 2 1/2 to 3 dozen smallish cookies, but we like them bigger, so I always increase the baking time by a couple of minutes. If you make the icing before the cookies are ready, you may need to thin it out by warming a bit and/or stirring in a couple more tablespoons of milk.
