Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who doesn’t love chocolate chip cookie? Crisp or chewy, filled with gooey chocolate chips; I think the chocolate chip cookie is my favorite cookie of all time! I remember it most out of any cookie I made with my grandmother as a child. There didn’t have to be a special occasion to make chocolate chip cookies. I LOVE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES!

Then my world of chocolate chip cookies was turned upside down when I read a post from a fellow foodies, homesteading, blogging friend who made Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies. So now you’ve combined the moist sweet goodness of fresh sugar pumpkin to the chocolaty goodness of a chocolate chip cookie… I say WINNER WINNER Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies! My husband was a skeptic… 4 cookies later with a big glass of milk and he was a believer.

In my typical fashion I decided to change the original recipe, just a bit. Below is my version of the following Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies. I have what is called functional decorations. For the fall and winter holidays I had several sugar pumpkins as decor in & out of the house. Now that the holidays have come to an end, I’m in process of baking, roasting, pureeing, and freezing the sugar pumpkins for later use. What better way to use some of those sugar pumpkins than in Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Thanks to Unpaved Roads for bringing this to my attention… I’ve got a new cookie to add to my holiday cookie arsenal!

* = organic
^ = local

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
375 (f) degrees, 10-12 minutes, yield 2-3 dozen depending on scoop size…

2 1/2 cups flour *
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon aluminum free baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
2 tablespoons flax seed meal * (optional)
1 egg *^
1 cup fresh sugar pumpkin puree *^
1/2 cup butter *
1/2 cup tallow *^ (you can omit this & use all butter)
3/4 cup granulated white sugar *
3/4 cup brown sugar *
1 teaspoon vanilla *
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Step 1: In a separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients (i.e. flour, baking powder/soda, salt, flax seed, and spices) and set aside. In a mixer cream together butter and tallow. Next cream in sugars, vanilla, pumpkin, and egg. Once ingredients are incorporated – not over mixed, slowly add in the flour on your mixer’s slowest setting till all flour is incorporated. Lastly stir in the chocolate chips and you are ready to bake.

Step 2: Prepare a cookie tray with a sheet of parchment paper. The size of the cookie is up to you, but keep in mind the larger the scoop… the longer the cooking time otherwise the cookie will remain uncooked in the center. Place a heaping spoonful onto the tray keeping a 1 inch space between each cookie. Place the cookie tray in a pre-heated 375 (f) degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes depending on cookie size, elevation, and how your oven works.

Step 3: Once cooking time has expired, immediately remove the cookies from the cookie sheet and place on a cooling rack. You can store them in an airtight container in a cool dry location. In our house, these cookies lasted three days so storage was not an issue… but I wouldn’t keep them longer than a week given fresh eggs, butter, tallow and pumpkin were used.

The pumpkin chocolate chip cookies have a ‘cake-like’ consistency because of the baking powder used. I was given the suggestion to use oatmeal to give the cookie a different texture, which I will try and share. Now it’s time to enjoy your Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Happy baking and more importantly happy eating!