I have fond childhood memories of baking chocolate chip cookies with my my mom and sister. When my sister and I saw our mom’s circa 1972 split pea green KitchenAid Stand Mixer come out, we knew we were in for a treat.
The process of helping my mom in the kitchen and being her little helper was almost as good as the cookies we’d bake together.
My dad always knew if my sister and I had been in the kitchen that day helping out as evidenced by the eggshells in his cookies, which we’d proudly present to him and that he’d never turn down. They simply added a delicious crunch.
As a helper, I learned early on not to crank the mixer to high speed immediately after adding the flour. A good way to make my mom mad was to spray her kitchen with flour.
The best part of cookie making came when adding the chocolate chips to the dough.
I’d always sneak a handful of chocolate chips that were supposed to make it into the cookie dough, but made it into my mouth instead.
With this cookie recipe, I wanted to embrace the classic chocolate chip cookie I grew up eating, but also incorporate everyone’s favorite fall ingredient: pumpkin.
Plenty of recipes exist for soft, cake-like, pumpkin whoopie pie cookies, but I wanted these cookies to have the traditional chewiness of a true chocolate chip cookie, but infused with pumpkin.
After testing and experimenting with so many recipes and creating everything from cakey, soft, pumpkin mounds to pumpkin-laced hockey pucks, I finally found the texture and flavor I was in search of with this recipe.
The resulting cookies are soft, tender, light and have just a touch of cakiness, but they are also chewy with some heartiness. Soft pumpkin cookie meets chewy chocolate chip cookie. The edges crisp up and the centers remain pillowy soft.
They’re packed with the warming flavors of fall, including cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, cloves, and a dash of molasses.
The chocolate chips pair nicely with the pumpkin and the flavors complement each other so well. Then again, chocolate pairs so well with most anything for me.
A few cook’s notes:
The dough is soft and a bit tacky to work with, courtesy of the pumpkin puree. Pumpkin does a beautiful job of tenderizing baked goods, but it makes the dough a bit sticky. Counteract the stickiness by chilling the dough before scooping it into balls. In my trials, I chilled the dough ranging from 90 minutes to 4 days. The longer the dough is chilled, the easier it is to work with.
Prior to baking, rolling a ball of dough through a cinnamon-sugar mixture not only creates a extra bonus of texture and flavor in the finished cookies, but it does double-duty by taking the edge off some of the dough’s stickiness.
I found the best cookies result from using 1 1/2 tablespoons of well-chilled dough, scooped using a cookie scoop, dredged through cinnamon-sugar, and flattened slightly before baking.
The cookies spread very little while baking and I recommend flattening the dough mounds slightly before baking otherwise the base will cook through and become too well done before the top sets.
The cookies keep beautifully, and paradoxically, get softer over time. The brown sugar and molasses attract moisture from the air so there’s little worry of them drying out.
Then again, I don’t think you’ll have too many extra cookies just lingering around.
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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes about 3 dozen medium-sized cookies
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (1 stick)
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 tablespoon unsulphered molasses (I use Grandma’s Original)
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, ground ginger, salt – all optional and to taste
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups Nestle Tollhouse Semi-Sweet Morsels
Cinnamon-Sugar Mixture, for rolling
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter, brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and beat on medium-high to high speed for 3 to 4 minutes to cream ingredients; stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the egg, vanilla, and beat on high speed for 3 to 4 minutes until mixture is light and fluffy. Add the pumpkin, unsulphered molasses (blackstrap molasses may be substituted but it’s bolder and more intense), 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, cloves, optional spices, salt, and mix until incorporated, about 1 minute. (All spices should be added to taste and use more or less, depending on how robustly-flavored you prefer your cookies. As written, the spices are nicely balanced and the cookies are of average intensity. Adding ginger, additional cinnamon or cloves, will give them a stronger punch and kick, rendering them more like a pumpkin-ginger-spice cookie)
Add the flour, baking soda, and mix until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips by hand. Dough will be thick and dense yet soft, and must be refrigerated and chilled before it’s suitable for scooping out and baking off. Cover mixing bowl with plastic wrap or transfer dough into an airtight container and refrigerate dough for at least 90 minutes, overnight, or up to four days.
Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare baking sheets by lining them with Silpat liners, parchment paper, or spray them with cooking spray; set aside. Make the Cinnamon-Sugar Mixture by combining 1/3 cup granulated sugar and 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon in a small bowl and stir to combine; set aside.
Form 1 1/2 tablespoon-sized balls of dough using a cookie scoop and dredge each ball through the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place balls on baking sheets; cookies spread very little and can be spaced about 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Flatten balls slightly before baking to ensure cookies cook through evenly. Bake for 12-13 minutes or until the edges near the bases of the cookies are golden and set, and tops have just set; cookies will continue to firm up as they cool. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets for at least 10 minutes before moving them. Cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Cookies can be kept vegan by using vegan margarine such as Earth Balance and replacing the egg with a flax egg. Cookies can be made gluten-free by using a gluten-free flour blend such as Bob’s Red Mill.
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And now, onto the Giveaway portion of this post. You can enter to win:
a $200 gift card from Williams-Sonoma
and a KitchenAid Stand Mixer
Yes, one lucky person will win both.
The mixer is from the KitchenAid Custom Metallic® Series | Tilt-Head Stand Mixer | Flour Power™ Rating – 9 Cup
It’s a 5-Quart size with a 10-speed Solid State Control
It comes with a flat beater, wire whip, and dough hook
It retails for $649.95
I’m sure I don’t need to sell you on the benefits, workmanship, and high quality nature of a KitchenAid Stand Mixer or twist your arm to pick out $200 worth of items from Williams-Sonoma.
Although Tweets, Facebook mentions, or Pinterest Pins about this post are appreciated, they are not required for entry.
Simply answer the following question by leaving a comment below to enter the giveaway:
Please share a favorite baking memory. (Please be detailed and specific)
Contest ends Monday, October 8, 2012 and winner will be chosen randomly. Open to continental U.S. residents only. Complete contest rules can be found at the bottom of this page.
This post is sponsored by Nestlé® Toll House® Morsels, the perfect special ingredient for all of your family’s favorite treats!
One of my favorite memories is trying to make a pumpkin pie for the first time for my boyfriend. I made it so quickly and before it cooled, I topped it with whipped cream (bad idea!!) The whipped cream melted as I drove it over to my boyfriend’s house and by the time I showed up, my car seat was a mess and I tearfully presented my soupy pie. My boyfriend laughed and told me it was the best he’s had. (I ended up marrying that one)
My favorite baking memory is when my grandma and I baked cookies for my sister’s wedding. We accidentally quadrupled the butter for a recipe, so had to quadruple the rest of it, and ended up making more than 25 dozen cookies.. we ended up giving about 3 dozen to the birds! It was madness, but so much fun!
I have lots of baking memories, but the big one is probably my mom teaching me how to make her Famous German Apple Cake. It’s not a cake, kind of a pie, and totally terrified me. Mom instructed me in the fine art of crust combining -she let me make a little leaf (for thanksgiving) or mistletoe leaf (for christmas) for the top. She showed me that sticking my finger in the gooey guts of the thing was totally ok – but that it shouldn’t taste all cinnamon sugary – it should be sweet and tangy, because when those apples cook down, it WILL be exactly like i remember-cinnamon sugary.
I loved baking cinnamon rolls from scratch with my grandmother. My favorite part was rolling out the dough, buttering it and sprinkling it with cinnamon and sugar, and then rolling the dough up to cut into rolls!
I love apples. One of my favorite baking memories is from when I was a little girl (probably early elementary school age). My mom would make all kinds of apple desserts throughout the year, but most often in the fall. I would stand next to the kitchen counter and watch her peel apples – I would eat the strips of apple peels like candy!. Did I mention that I love apples? There were also tons of orchards in my home town, so we would stop quite often at the local farm stand to buy apples, apple cider, etc. Occasionally I would be treated to an apple cinnamon donut – yum! Back when I was young, apple-filled donuts were only available in the fall (not year-round, like today). My mom didn’t make home-made apple donuts, but occasionally we had them at fall festivals. And Mom’s home-made applesauce is divine – I’ve been trying to recreate it for years, but still working on the right recipe!
My favorite baking memories are during the holiday season. I have such a large family that every time we get together, we have massive amounts of food, especially dessert! I remember when I first started to learn how to bake, I would make cookies using refrigerated dough and/or rice krispy treats. Now after many years, our holiday desserts consist of pies, bars, cookies, brownies, jello, cupcakes, chocolate covered everything, fudge, cakes, etc, etc. I’m surprised and so thankful that none of us have diabetes! Although the food, the desserts, and the presents are fun, the time spent with family in the kitchen and out are priceless.
Actually, making chocolate chip cookies probably is what I have the most memories of. When I visit home at Christmas time, mixing up a batch together is something my dad always wants us to do. I don’t argue so long as we get to save some of the dough just to eat as dough.
I fondly remember baking with my Nana. I’d watch her make sugar cookies and sprinkle on sugar. I can still remember the taste! And I loved watching her make biscuits special for me for dinner. :)
i have had very few baking experiences, but my favorite so far, which was also one of my first, was when i baked a quiche for Christmas breakfast for myself, my friend Bethany and her dog Kita. Bethany and Kita stayed over on Christmas Eve, and on Christmas morning i put the quiche together and while it was baking we opened all our presents. I had never really cooked anything that wasn’t from a box on my own before, so the when the quiche came out super delicious it was extra satisfying for me. :D
My favorite baking memory is when I was little and helping my mom make an apple pie. I was so excited because she was showing me how to roll out the dough. I climbed up onto the counter to help, but kept banging my head on the cabinet doors. We finished the pie though, and later sat down and ate it while holding an ice pack to my poor bruised forehead :)
My favorite baking memory was when I first began baking with my aunt. She showed me how to measure ingredients, mix them together, bake it, and taste the heaven that we just created. Without her, I would not have loved baking as much as I do today.
My favorite baking memory is working with my grandma in the kitchen. Whenever i would go and visit we always made chocolate chip cookies. It was extra special because we never made them at my house. I remember being in her kitchen with her kitchen aid and sometimes turning it up to high and getting flour everywhere. No matter what messes we made it was always fun and full of love. I cherish those memories.
My favorite baking memory involves a Christmas tradition of making spritz cookies with my mom. My mom would mix up the dough and put it into the cookie press. Then, we picked our favorite spritz shapes and, once we were old enough, we helped turn the press and form the cookies on the cookie sheet. Once they were baked and cooled, we loved brushing the spritz cookies with corn syrup and dipping them in sprinkles. But of course our favorite part was eating them! To this day, I make spritz part of my Christmas cookie selection and I look forward to the day when my son is old enough to start helping me with them!
Baking Belgian Christmas cookies with my Mom. Great giveaway, good luck everyone!
One of my favorite baking memories is making springerle cookies with my grandmother. My grandfather is German and his mother used to make these anise flavored cookies for him. My grandmother got her mother in law’s recipe and has passed it, and the cookie press, down to my mother and, now, to me. When I was younger, I would spend a weekend with my grandparents and this would be a great weekend project. The dough has to sit overnight after pressing a design into each cookie. Then they can be baked and the smell is AMAZING! I can’t wait to have my own children and continue the tradition.
My favorite baking memory is of baking christmas cookies with my mom, I know this is a cliche’ memory that most people have, but I was always so grateful to have that tradition with her. I take time every year to make those cookies and appreciate the time I still have with my mom when so many others don’t.