Pumpkin possibilities abound, as we’ve already found. To lick through the so-far list, we’ve lucked into and tucked into whole pumpkins, stuffed with either a hearty meat filling or a scrumptious sweet custard, followed by canned pumpkin.

It showed up in a newcomer ale-enhanced pumpkin bread, a honey-kissed pudding cake, a popular “impossible’’ pie and a creamy white chocolate fudge.

What next, then? Cookies, of course!

“We have a favorite pumpkin cookie recipe that we made every year when my son was young,’’ Peggy Abbott of Everett writes. “We called it the Great Pumpkin Cookie — maybe after Charlie Brown’s Great Pumpkin?

“My son liked to decorate them, almost more even than Christmas cookies! The recipe is from a can of Libby’s canned pumpkin. They are a soft, cakelike cookie, and the recipe calls for making them big so you can decorate them.

“Now, though, since he’s grown up and out of the cookie-decorating phase, we make them like a normal chocolate-chip cookie size.’’

Peggy adds, “I hope your readers enjoy this recipe and have fun making the cookies! When I was looking for this recipe to send, I found numerous recipes that I’ve cut from your Forum column over the years. We’ve enjoyed trying them and finding new family favorites.’’

And longtime Forum helper-outer, Marysville cook and cookbook author Dianne Berst tells us, “My favorite pumpkin recipe is pumpkin raisin bars, found in my books, ‘I like Cookies!’ and ‘Cookie Exchange Extravaganza.’

“I acquired this recipe some time after publishing ‘Sharing Our Best,’ and had a hard time keeping track of it in my own kitchen. However, I remembered which co-workers had asked for a copy of the recipe after I took these yummy bars to work, so I could always ask for a copy of the recipe back when I got into a pinch.”

Great Pumpkin Cookies

2cups flour

1cup quick or old-fashioned oats

1teaspoon baking soda

1teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2teaspoon salt

1cup butter or margarine, softened

1cup brown sugar

1cup granulated sugar

1egg, slightly beaten

1teaspoon vanilla

1cup canned pumpkin

1cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or raisins

Decorations: icing or peanut butter, assorted candies, raisins or nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Cream butter or margarine, then gradually add sugars, beating until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and mix well. Alternate additions of the dry ingredients and pumpkin, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the chocolate chips or raisins.

For each cookie, drop 1/4 cup of dough onto lightly greased cookie sheet; spread into a pumpkin shape, using a thin metal spatula. Add a bit more dough to form a stem. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until cookies are firm and lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheets; cool on racks. Decorate using icing or peanut butter to fix assorted candies, raisins or nuts.

Makes 19 to 20 cookies.

Pumpkin raisin bars

2cups flour

2cups sugar

2teaspoons baking powder

1teaspoon baking soda

1teaspoon cinnamon

1teaspoon nutmeg

1/2teaspoon salt

1/2teaspoon cloves

1cup vegetable oil

4eggs

1can (15 ounces) pumpkin (or about 2 cups)

1/2cup nuts, chopped

1/2cup raisins

Cream cheese frosting (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10-by-15-inch jelly-roll pan.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, cloves, oil, eggs and pumpkin. Beat at low speed with electric mixer until ingredients are moistened. Beat mixture for 2 minutes at medium speed. Stir in the nuts and raisins. Pour into a greased jelly-roll pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool completely, then spread with cream cheese frosting and store in refrigerator. When needed, cut into bars.

Makes about 48 bars.

Cream cheese frosting

1/3cup butter or margarine, softened

1package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened

2cups powdered sugar

1tablespoon milk

1teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small bowl, combine all of the ingredients and beat until smooth.

The next Forum will appear in Friday’s comics pages.