Pumpkin-Walnut-Chocolate-Chip Cookies 2.0

Almost exactly four years ago, I posted my recipe for pumpkin-walnut-chocolate-chip cookies, which I've made at least once every autumn since, including this morning. These cookies are my humble attempt to replicate the ones that used to be (and still are, for all I know) sold at the coffee shop in my college library. Here's today's iteration:


I've tweaked the recipe a bit since 2014, so I thought I'd post an update for those of you interested in making them, which everyone should be. Note that the walnuts and chocolate chips aren't mandatory at all (though they are, of course, highly recommended).



INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 cup plain canned pumpkin (this is a little less than a standard 15-oz. can)
  • 1/2 cup sugar (you can use a bit less or more, depending on preferred sweetness level and presence/absence of chocolate chips. I used 1/2 cup today and wish I'd used less)
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 egg
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp. baking powder 
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. milk
  • 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. powdered nutmeg (slightly less if using fresh)
  • 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp. table salt
  • 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp. apple cider, milk, or water (optional, for thinning dough)
  • 1/2-3/4 cup chocolate chips (optional)
  • 1/2-3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

METHOD:

  • In large bowl, combine pumpkin, egg, oil, and sugar.
  • Dissolve baking soda in 1 tsp. milk and add to pumpkin mixture.
  • In smaller bowl, combine flour, baking powder, spices, and salt.
  • Stir flour mixture into pumpkin mixture; add vanilla.
  • Add chocolate chips and walnuts, if using.
  • This is a thick, gooey dough; if you'd like to thin it out a tiny bit, add 1 tbsp. of liquid, e.g. apple cider (which I used today), water, or milk.
  • Drop by rounded spoonfuls (I used an ice-cream scoop) onto greased baking sheet. I find that this recipe makes about 15 medium-sized cookies or 20 smaller ones.
  • Bake for 13-20 minutes, depending on the intensity of your oven; remove when lightly browned and barely set on top. When I first made this recipe, I had a gas oven that ran cold, and I needed the full 20 minutes. My new apartment has an electric oven, and the cookies were done at 13 minutes today! So yeah, know your oven. 

And done! I'm looking forward to taking these cookies to work this week instead of my usual Larabars. Happy fall (in the Northern Hemisphere), everyone!

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