These cookies are spicy and chocolaty and cakey, with a little crispiness on the outside. They’re delicious, and whenever I make them, I think of my beautiful daughter-in-law, Lindsey.
The first time I made these little lovelies was several years ago. (circa 2010) It was the first Thanksgiving after Richard and Lindsey got married, and they were coming here for the holiday, as were several other family members. Everyone was arriving on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, so I thought that these warm cookies would be a perfect treat for the arriving travelers.
They take a little longer to bake than your average chocolate chip cookie, but after 15 minutes in the oven, they were still completely doughy. I gave them another 5 minutes, and they still weren’t even close to being done. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with the recipe!
Anyway, it turns out that the problem was my oven. It had heated up, but then the igniter quit, and as the oven slowly cooled down, it was unable heat back up.
As my guests began to arrive, instead of fresh, warm, delicious cookies, they were greeted by slimy dough balls. Lindsey valiantly ate one and even complimented me! Bless her! The good news was that this recipe is just great! The bad news was that, two days before Thanksgiving, my oven was dead. (FYI, Thanksgiving week and Christmas week are the busiest times of the year for appliance repairmen. People get serious about getting things in working order for the holidays, and that made finding someone to come fix ours stressful.) However, we got it done the next day and had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
I was actually grateful that the oven gave out on the cookies so that I could get it fixed before the turkey went in. Now, I remember that crazy Thanksgiving, and sweet Lindsey, every time I make them. I can even smile about it!
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 can (15 ounce) pumpkin puree
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon, heaping
- ½ teaspoon ginger, heaping
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, heaping
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 3 cups semisweet chocolate chips ~ I use 1 bag (12 ounces) mini chips and 1 cup regular-size chips
- Line baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper (or grease them) and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg, then set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter and sugars. Beat several minutes, until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat another 2-3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl. Beat in pumpkin. Mix in dry ingredients, and add chocolate chips.
- Scoop heaping tablespoons of dough onto prepared baking sheets, and bake 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven, and allow to cool in pan for 2 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to finish cooling.
In a large bowl, whisk together
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon, heaping
½ teaspoon ginger, heaping
¼ teaspoon ground cloves, heaping
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
I like my pumpkin cookies to be spicy, so I increase my favorite spices a little by heaping the measuring spoons instead of leveling them off. Don’t go too crazy, but a little extra (like on the left) is really yummy!
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine and beat svereal minutes, until light and fluffy
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
Add, and beat another 2-3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl
2 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
Beat in
1 can (15 ounce) pumpkin puree
Mix in dry ingredients just until combined.
Then add
3 cups chocolate chips
I use 1 bag (12 ounces) mini chips and 1 cup regular-sized semisweet chips, but you can use whatever you want-even milk chocolate chips.
Scoop heaping tablespoons of dough onto prepared baking sheets, and bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.
Remove from oven, and allow to cool in pan for 2 minutes.
Transfer to wire racks to finish cooling.
Enjoy with a glass of cold milk.
