Plump Pumpkin Cookies Recipe

Plump Pumpkin Cookies

When a friend first told me of mixing pumpkin and chocolate I was horrified. How could the bright orange venerable vegetable of fall invade the deep deliciousness of dark chocolate? It just didn’t seem fair to the chocolate. But then I tried his chocolate pumpkin truffles and realized a new level of flavor combinations had emerged.

So I got thinking about other pumpkin desserts besides pie and pumpkin roll (still great).
I found a couple of Libby pumpkin cookie recipes and played around with them until the cookies came out moist and pumpkiny. I brought out a more distinct pumpkin taste by warming the canned pumpkin in a pot, an America’s Test Kitchen trick. I added raisins and white chocolate chips with a cup of dark chocolate chips to give the pumpkin cookies a richer flavor with more depth. And for even sweeter cookies, I added a vanilla glaze.
These moist pumpkin cookies are now some of my favorite fall goodies. I made some and sent them to a friend as a Thanksmas gift (Thanksgiving doesn’t get enough credit and Christmas lasts a while so we blend them). Of course, we ate our share of cookies too. Plus, there was leftover pumpkin from Thanksgiving, so I had to make more!

 

Moist & Plump Pumpkin Cookies

Dry Goods:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsps. pumpkin pie spice or 1:1 cinnamon and ginger w/pinch cloves and nutmeg
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt (may reduce if using salted butter)

Wet Goods:
1 c. (2 sticks) butter
1 c. granulated sugar
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Add-ins:
1 c. semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
1/2 c. white chocolate chips
1/2 c. raisins

Recipe Directions:

1. Combine all dry ingredients in one bowl.
2. Cream butter and sugar with mixer in separate bowl until ingredients well incorporated.
3. Add eggs, vanilla, and pumpkin to mixture.
4. Gradually beat in dry ingredients into the batter.
5. Mix in chocolate chips and raisins by half cups
6. Drop by rounded something-fulls onto cookie ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 15-20 min. at 375 F.
[I hate recipes that say drop by rounded tsps. I mean who really wants tiny little cookies? Pumpkins are big and round and plump, so why shouldn’t the cookies be too?]

Glaze (optional) – Adjust to your taste/consistency
2 c. confectioner’s powdered sugar
3 1/4 Tbs milk
1 Tbs melted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Add the wet ingredients to the sugar and stir until smooth.
2. Drizzle over cookies in zig-zag patterns.

Note: The glaze will make the cookies softer, so if using you may want to bake cookies a minute longer. Cool completely before glazing and refrigerate use within a day to prevent glaze from setting in.

Makes 3 dozen or more, depending on size. As Linus from Peanuts would say, “Welcome, Great Pumpkin!”

Now onto more Thanksmas.

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