Recipe Courtesy of Kelly, courtesy of Airan's co-worker.. and who knows where she got it.
These were fantabulous cookies. I mean, really good. Yummy.
I've had "pumpkin" cookies before. They are usually super sweet with some sort of glaze on top. Yuck. I'm proud to announce that there is no glaze on top of these and the white chocolate adds to the flavor of the pumpkin.
I had never made these cookies before.. so I've learned a couple of secrets. First, I will copy the recipe exactly as it was given to me and then tell you what I figured out.
White Chocolate Pumpkin Cookies
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks, softened)
1 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 cup pure pumpkin puree
2 large eggs
1 Tbs. vanilla extract
10 oz. white chocolate, coarsely chopped (use one that has cocoa butter in it)
1 cup pecan halves and pieces, toasted (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Whisk together flour, pumpkin pie spice, and baking soda in a small bowl. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in pumpkin puree. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Beat in flour mixture just until combined. Stir in chocolate and nuts.
Drop dough by rounded tablespoons 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake until set, 20 to 22 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
Store cookies in foil or in a baking tin.
The only alterations to the recipe I made were: I used 1 stick of butter and one stick of margarine. This makes cookies not crunchy, but they don't spread out all over the place either. I also didn't have any cocoa butter white chocolate. I only had a 12 oz. bag of white chocolate chips. So I dumped the whole thing in there. There were too many chips in my opinion. If you are using nuts, then the 12 oz bag would probably be fine. I can't cook with nuts, because the hubby doesn't like them. I know, weird. Anyway, I would probably half the bag.
The cookies are more cake-like than cookie like. They did not spread as much as I thought they would. Perhaps from the margarine. So my first batch turned out like golf balls. With burned bottoms.
The next batch, I made the cookies bigger than a tablespoon. I spread them out a bit with the back of my spoon to make them thinner and rounder. Then I only baked them for 15 minutes instead of 20. I suppose if there was more batter and less chocolate, you would probably have to bake them a bit longer.
It is very important to not store them stacked together. Because of their cake-like consistency, they will stick in one big clump. I found that out when I put some in a sandwich bag for lunches.
Otherwise, they were great cookies and didn't last long around here. I will definitely make them again.
2 comments:
Yum! I can't wait to make these. (My sweet tooth is insatiable these days. Alas.)
This recipe is great! I've made it about four times now. EACH TIME it's been a hit.
I was first introduced to this type of cookie when a friend of mine brought some over (having purchased them from the local grocery bakery). I thought "pumpkin and chocolate???? Eww." But, after eating one (so not to be rude), I could not believe how fantastic they were!
I have used this recipe about four times now, and EACH time it's been a hit. I considered the recommendations 'Kelly' made and wanted to share my few tidbits for any others who are fortunate enough to stumble upon this site:
* I used one stick of butter and, since I don't keep margarine in the house, I used 1/2 a cup of shortening. I'm not a pro baker, so I don't know exactly how that affects spread and/or crispiness... but those cookies have turned out fine each time.
* I noted Kelly's comment about the white chocolate chips and only used half a bag the first time... and it wasn't enough for me. I used a whole bag the second time. HOWEVER... I DID note the comment in the ingredients listing that I should used white chocolate "that has cocoa butter in it". I read the ingredients on the bag of white chips I'd just dumped into the dough and realized that my chips were just milk, sugar, vanilla and palm kernel oil. No wonder they weren't as flavorful as I expected them to be! For those of you who don't know: real white chocolate is the cocoa butter from the cacao bean, mixed with sugar and (I THINK) a little milk. I'd encourage you to make sure the 'chips' you pick up are actually made of cacao... if anything, simply to do your part in not contributing to the de-nuding of tropical forests for the sake of palm kernel oil harvesting....
That all having been said, tonight I'll be baking them again, this time with coarsely chopped REAL white chocolate. I'll be adding it to my dough, which I've also discovered tastes more rich when I add just a touch more pumpkin and brown sugar (just under a 1/4 more each).
Hope you all enjoy!
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