Two cookies in a row is not really fair to you, I know, but these are totally worth it. My friend, Emily, started it, actually, by saying that she made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies over the weekend. I immediately started to obsess. Pumpkin and Chocolate in a cookie! There are those among us that think that sentence is sacrilegious; I know my dad is one of them. He is a purist when it comes to chocolate chip cookies, and the very mention of an orange squash trampling the perfection of a simple chocolate chip cookie would make him cringe to be sure. Despite his initial response, if I could convince him to let one bite pass his lips, he would have to acknowledge that this is not a destructive plot to ruin all things Holy. In fact, he might even have two bites.
Despite being in the middle of way too many things, I threw a batch of these in the oven last night and am overwhelmingly glad I did. Emily sent me the recipe she used and warned me that they did not spread as much as she would have liked. I took that good warning and found another recipe by George Duran that seemed to have more spread potential with a higher baking soda content and no baking powder. I think we found a winner!
Sometimes with pumpkin cookies they can turn a mucky orange brown color that is not all that desirable, but these are a pretty golden hue. Light with a cake like texture due to the pumpkin, they are a perfect fall day treat. (I think any mom could get any kid to eat a fair share of pumpkin with a batch of these around.)
The batch made over forty cookies, and so I sent Stephen to work with a full tub to share. There are likely to be happy pumpkin eating bellies around the office today, and perhaps a few converts to the dark side of pumpkin mixed with chocolate chip cookies. (Dad, you are next.)
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe by George Duran makes over 40 cookies1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 cups (12-ounce bag) milk chocolate chips, not semisweet (I used dark chocolate and they were great)
Nonstick cooking spray or parchment paper
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray cookie sheets with nonstick spray or line them with parchment paper.
2. Using a mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Beat in the white and brown sugars, a little at a time, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time, then mix in the vanilla and pumpkin puree.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Slowly beat the flour mixture into the batter in thirds. Stir in the chips. Scoop the cookie dough by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared cookie sheets and bake for 15 to 20 minutes (mine baked 13 minutes), or until the cookies are browned around the edges. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let them rest for 2 minutes. Take the cookies off with a spatula and cool them on wire racks.
