Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

In a large bowl, cream the sugar and butter until fluffy, for about 5 minutes. You can do this in a stand mixer or with a handheld mixer.

Once it is creamed together add the eggs and vanilla extract.

Mix all of the dry cookie ingredients in separate bowl and add to butter mixture, mix well. If you are adding pumpkin spice to the cookie dough you will want to add that here.

Put half of the freshly made dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll it out to 1/4 inch thick.

Repeat with the rest of the dough.

Put the rolled dough including the parchment paper, on a cookie sheet and refrigerate for 10 minutes or longer. You want the dough to be cold.

Once the sugar cookie dough is chilled it is ready to cut using your pumpkin cookie cutter. After cutting all the cookies out, reroll the dough scraps  and use the rest of it to cut out more cookies until you have no dough left.

Place cookies on a single layer with a little bit of space between them on a baking sheet and bake at 325° F for 10 -15 minutes.

Remove the cookies from the baking sheet and cool them on a cookie rack. Be sure the cookies are completely cooled before moving on to decorating them.

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.

Mix on low speed until smooth and creamy, about 8 to 10 minutes.

If icing is too thick, add more water.

If too thin, beat icing 2 to 3 minutes more.

Add a clear extract to make your frosting take on different flavors if you want to.

Color icing with desired food colors by blending a drop of coloring into the icing.

Gradually blend additional drops until you achieve the desired color.

Color about 6/8 of your icing pumpkin orange. Thin it out to be about a 20-second royal icing. If you are new to working with Royal Icing check out the information using Royal Icing to explain the different thicknesses of royal icing.

Pipe the outline of the pumpkin with a #4 round tip by breaking it into quadrants and start with the middle quadrant as a pointed oval in the middle.

Let them dry then water down half of the orange icing so it's a 6-second icing.

Flood in the quadrants with a 6-second icing in the orange. Let it dry for 10 minutes then pipe the lines of the pumpkin with the 20-second icing.

Color your remainder of the royal icing green.

Water it down to be about a 20-second icing. Pipe on the streams and some vines with the green icing.

Leave cookies to set the frosting with out touching them for 10-15 minutes.