I never said I was finished posting pumpkin recipes for the year.  I only suggested that you might be getting tired of opening up every food blog across the blogosphere and seeing Pumpkin Something Or Other as the item of the day.  Sorry. This is yet another one.  But it is a sure-fire winner that you will absolutely not want to miss.

What’s not to love about chocolate and nuts anyway.  Combine those with some butter, pumpkin and pumpkin spices and you have a definite worth breaking-the-diet-for cookie that’s crisp on the edges yet pillowy soft in in the center.  It’s a sugar cookie + chocolate chip cookie + pumpkin spice cookie all baked up into one melt in your mouth deliciousness.

Can you tell that I’m a fan?  You’ll be thanking me for this one for sure.

After the thunderstorms and heavy rains of the past few days, today was a sunshiny rainbow bursting with autumnal colors.  Burnt orange.  Fire-blaze red.  Pure gold.  They were all dancing around in the skies with the warm browns and summery greens.  Everywhere I turned, there was one more, “Can you believe how beautiful those are?”  I know I’ve said it before, but this fall has been one of the prettiest in several years.  Hubby’s scientific response to that is, “Well, Mother Nature was just in the right mood this year.”

For once, I must agree.

Wherever you are, I hope your day has been just as beautiful as mine.  Now go make these cookies.

Spiced Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

2013-11-02 17:07:45

Yields 3

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Ingredients

1. 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2. 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
3. 3/4 cup granulated sugar plus additional for topping
4. 1 teaspoon salt
5. 2 eggs
6. 2 Tablespoons pumpkin puree
7. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8. 1/2 teaspoon caramel extract, optional
9. 2 Tablespoons apple cider
10. 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
11. 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
12. 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
13. 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
14. 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
15. 1 teaspoon baking soda
16. 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
17. 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
18. 1 1/2 cups chopped, toasted walnuts

Instructions

1. Sift together flour, soda, salt and spices together in a small bowl; set aside.
2. Cream butter, sugars, extracts, pumpkin puree and apple cider until smooth. Add in eggs one at a time and beat well after each.
3. Combine flour mixture and butter mixture beating well until smooth. If the batter seems too sticky, add additional flour 1 Tablespoon at a time until thicker. (This will depend upon your flour and the humidity.)
4. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts; allow to chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees (350 degrees for dark pans). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or Silpat.
6. Shape dough into walnut-sized balls and roll in granulated sugar and place 2 inches apart on the cookie sheets. Flatten each cookie with a glass dipped in granulated sugar.
7. Chill the cookies until ready to bake.
8. Bake 10-15 minutes until edges are set and cookies are firm but still soft in the centers. Cook in pans 1-2 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.

Adapted from Martha Stewart Living October 2000, The Food Network 2013, Cooks Recipes, 1999

Adapted from Martha Stewart Living October 2000, The Food Network 2013, Cooks Recipes, 1999

Dining With Debbie https://diningwithdebbie.net/