PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE WALNUT COOKIES

We all love delicious Fall flavors and pumpkin cookies are always my go-to at this time of year! The problem with pumpkin cookies is that they usually taste like pumpkin muffins or pumpkin bread; they are often overly-cakey and not quite what we want in a cookie! Rest assured, I have finally found the perfect way to make chewy, doughy, chock-full-of-chocolate pumpkin cookies. You’ll be making these from Halloween all the way through Thanksgiving! Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

(makes about 20 cookies)

¼ cup and 1 tbsp light brown sugar

½ cup and 2 tsp sugar

½ cup melted salted butter (make sure it’s melted)

1 ½ tsp vanilla

6 tbsp pumpkin purée (85 g)

1 ½ cup flour

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp cloves

½ tsp apple pie spice or pumpkin pie spice

½ cup and 2 tbsp semi-sweet chocolate chips

½ cup to 1 cup of chopped pecans or walnuts, depending on your preference

PREPARATION

1. Preheat oven to 350˚

2. Mix together the brown sugar, sugar, melted butter in a stand mixer.

3. Add in the vanilla and pumpkin purée and mix until combined.

4. In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and apple pie spice.

5. Add the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and mix until combined.

6. Stir in the ½ cup of chocolate chips and the nuts (reserve some of both for pressing into the tops later).

7. Chill the dough for at least 25 minutes.

8. Line two baking trays with parchment paper.

9. Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons onto the parchment paper, leaving space between each cookie.

10. Press each cookie down until it is flat and not too thick (about 1/3 inch).

11. Bake each tray individually for 9-10 minutes. Make sure not to leave the cookies in too long, as they’ll lose their chewiness.

12. After 10 minutes, put the oven on Broil for less than 1 minute- watch this very carefully as seconds can literally take your cookie from golden brown to burnt (I even like to leave the oven door open to watch). After about 30 seconds- when your cookies are just slightly acquiring a nice golden top - remove them.

13. As soon as they are out of the oven, press extra chocolate chips and nuts lightly into the top of the cookies (in the spaces without chips).

14. The cookies will be undercooked at this point, so you have to let them cool on a rack for at least 10-15 minutes before you eat them—they will keep cooking through as they cool and become chewy and delicious!

15. Enjoy!