Pumpkin Chip Cookies

A spiced pumpkin cookie full of chocolate chips.

Source: Food Network, this one courtesy of George Duran.

Yield: Around 4-5 dozen, depending on size.

I have a niece that is just a couple years younger than my daughter.  She lives about 45 minutes away, but frequently spends weekends with us.  She loves to play with my daughter, and the two of them are total BFF’s.  When they are together, there is generally a lot of giggling and silliness, typical little girl stuff.

This weekend, my daughter had been invited to a birthday party, so my niece was stuck at our house, bored.  We decided to make cookies to pass the time.  She is the only child of a single dad, so baking cookies is not something she has a lot of experience with.  She is also pretty unfamiliar with a lot of spices, so these pumpkin cookies turned out to be a great choice.

I always feel like pumpkin-based desserts are more appropriate for the last quarter of the year.  But, even though it is spring, I was really in the mood for them.  Plus, I got a can of pumpkin on clearance at the grocery store, so it was the perfect storm.

Using a mixer, beat the butter until smooth.  Add the sugars, a little at a time, beating until the mixture is light and fluffy.  (This takes a few minutes.)  Mix in the eggs, one at a time, then add the vanilla and pumpkin.  In a separate bowl, mix your dry ingredients together, then add to the pumpkin mixture in thirds, stirring only until incorporated.  Add the chocolate chips.

I let my niece do most of the ingredient adding.  We smelled all the spices, and she wrinkled her nose at the cloves.  I told her, “This makes it smell like pumpkin pie!”  She replied, “It DOES smell like pumpkin pie!”  She was anxious to try the dough to see if it tasted like pumpkin pie too.  It does, by the way.  Both before and after baking.

The dough is quite gooey, as you can see.  Drop by large tablespoonfuls onto your baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Personally, I used very large spoonfuls, so 15 minutes was not enough.  I baked them closer to 20 minutes.  They should be just browning around the edges.  Give them a minute or two to cool on the pan before removing to a cooling rack.  Store in an airtight container.  And, don’t do what I did and forget your last batch.  I left 5 lovely cookies burn, and I had to trash them.  What a waste of wonderful pumpkin-ness.

In the end, my niece went home with a baggie full of cookies, and her dad loved them.  I think they were on his short list of favorites.  The junior high boys gave them 10 out of 10.  (“Not 12 out of 10, just 10 out of 10,” one of them clarified.)  I’ll take that.

Pumpkin Chip Cookies

 

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Cook time

20 mins

Total time

20 mins

 

A soft and chewy pumpkin cookie with chocolate chips.

Serves: 4-5 dozen

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 3 cups flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• ½ tsp. ginger
• ¼ tsp. cloves
• ¼ tsp. nutmeg
• 2 cups milk chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Whip butter until smooth. Add sugars, a little at a time, mixing for a few minutes until light and fluffy.
2. Add eggs, vanilla, and pumpkin, and mix well.
3. In a separate bowl, sift dry ingredients together. Add to the pumpkin mixture in thirds, mixing each third in until incorporated.
4. Gently stir in chocolate chips.
5. Drop by large spoonfuls onto a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
6. Remove from baking sheet and allow to cool. Store in an airtight container.

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