I love a challenge. Especially if it involves baking something delicious and then eating it. When I (and a lot of others I presume) think of fall seasonal flavours, probably one of the most popular choices would be pumpkin. So many possibilities with this humble gourd. It can be sweet, it can be savoury, you can eat the seeds, or you can carve it up and cram a candle inside it. Such fun to work with, and easier than 1,2,3 if you use the canned stuff.
My family never made pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, or pecan pie for that matter. I was totally deprived of this spicy fall treat until well into adulthood. Once I did try it though, I was hooked. There’s just something about pumpkin, once it’s been mixed with other enhancing flavours, that conjures up all the best memories of autumn. Crisp, colourful leaves, the whiff of wood smoke on the cool breeze, the return of my favourite long coats.
And so it was that I came to the dilemma of the pumpkin cookie. Sure, I’ve seen it many times. It’s all over the place this time of year, although you will find some people calling it a “muffin top” these days. Which is really more accurate anyway when it comes to the standard pumpkin cookie recipe. Fluffy, cakey and not at all the texture one thinks of when dreaming of cookies. When I think of a cookie, it should crispy around the edges, slightly undercooked in the centre, and chewy throughout. The perfect cookie texture, if you will. Apparently this is rather hard to achieve when it ocmes to a pumpkin cookie because of the added liquid involved in the pumpkin itself. It is quite watery when you add it to the batter.
I thought that there must be a way to solve this dilemma. Too much liquid…well, why not just get rid of that excess liquid then? You will still retain the orange hue and fall flavour of pumpkin, but at the same time, achieve a much better texture or crumb.
And so I set to work experimenting one afternoon. And this, my friends, is my gift to you. A perfectly crisp and chewy pumpkin cookie, accented by the wonderful spices we all know and love and a little surprise for extra zing. Enjoy!
Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies
1 cup butter
1 1/4 cups brown sugar, packed
1 cup pumpkin butter**
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamon
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp orange zest
1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips or chunks
fine grain sea salt, such as pink Himalayan (optional)
1. Cream butter and sugar in medium sized bowl.
2. Add egg, vanilla and pumpkin butter. Mix well.
3. In separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Add to wet and stir to combine.
4. Stir in orange zest and chocolate chips and set in refrigerator for 1 hour.
5. These cookies don’t spread much so be creative in making shapes. I went for a rough look by pulling out chunks of dough and loosely molding into cookie shapes. Sprinkle with sea salt before baking if desired.
6. Bake for 15-18 minutes in a 350°F oven.
Because these cookies are crisp and chewy fresh out of the oven, I recommend making them in smaller batches and freezing the dough for future use.
** To make the pumpkin butter:
Method #1. Dump one can of pure pumpkin purée (27-29 0z can) and one cup of brown sugar into a small saucepan. Heat on medium and continue to stir and reduce for 1 hour. When done, you should be left with about a cup + 2 Tbsp of very thick pumpkin butter.
Method #2. Halve three small sugar pumpkins, scoop out the seeds and discard. Cut side up on a greased baking tray, bake in a 375°F oven for 45 minutes. Remove from oven, scoop out flesh and purée in food processor (there should be about 2 cups). Drain in cheese cloth by squeezing out the excess liquid. Add to small saucepan along with 1 cup of brown sugar. Cook down on medium heat for about one hour until very thick. Remove and set aside.
Remember, they don’t stay crispy and chewy forever. These guys are best served right away, or at least within 2 days. After that they begin to soften. They still taste great, but I chose to freeze two thirds of my dough in two small batches for later indulgence.
Looks like your experimenting paid off for you. The cookies sound delicious!
.-= Michelle´s last blog ..Cinnamon pecan coffee cake =-.
I adore the pumpkin .. I love chocolate … together are an explosive mix!
These look incredible! Every time I’ve made them they have turned out ‘cake-like’ but these ones seem crispier. I love the idea!
Wow, great idea. These sound like they’re so worth the trouble of reducing the pumpkin. I dislike cakey cookies…so these sound awesome. Yum.
Those cookies sound delicious and I love the photo of the stacked pumpkin skins!
.-= chocolate shavings´s last blog ..Apple Sauce =-.
These sound great Liz, and I am sure they are going to be a hit with the Dad as well as the daughter!!
First, your photos are amazing. Do you use a macro lens? Second, I just met a woman who makes homemade pumpkin butter in my area and I didn’t buy some because I was like, how can I use this? But now I know! Thanks for sharing 🙂
.-= Rachel J´s last blog ..Caribbean Club with Lime Butter =-.
I wish I had a macro lens. Nope, I use a prime lens. Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 D on a Nikon D60 body.
Dang girl you’re baking up a storm lately 🙂 Looks super yum. Hope to cook with you sometime in the future!
.-= Mel @ bouchonfor2.com´s last blog ..Guest Bloggers Search: Share Your Family Recipe =-.
What a great recipe, the pictures make me want to jump in and eat the cookies!
Is this a new blog layout or have I not had enough coffee today?
.-= Squeaky Gourmet´s last blog ..Coconut Chicken Soup with Crusty Gluten free Bread =-.
Nope, same layout. I guess it’s just so refreshing it makes it look new!
And Mel, we’ll have to plan that out toute de suite!
Wow, these look very tasty! What beautiful photos of the pumpkins.
.-= Cookin’ Canuck´s last blog ..Molasses & Brown Sugar Spice Cookies Recipe =-.
Oh yum! The cookies sound wonderful. I love the picture of all of the leftover scooped out pumpkins… Beautiful!
.-= Jen @ My Kitchen Addiction´s last blog ..Butternut Squash Soup with Parmesan and Sage =-.
I found your blog on foodbuzz! Wow these cookies look delicious! I love pumpkin and I love chocolate chips! I recently make similar cookies, but with pecans, too. I will have to try this sometime!
.-= Sook´s last blog ..Orange Blowknots =-.
These look fantastic! Williams-Sonoma had some pumpkin butter, but maybe I’ll try my local farmer’s market first.
.-= Carolyn´s last blog .. =-.
looks fabulous…the pumpkin butter portion sounds a bit daunting, but totally worth it.
These deserve an award no question!
Oh wow!! These look incredible, must make asap!!!
If I bake them tonight and serve them tomorrow will they still be chewy?
They should stay crisp and chewy for at least 48 hours. They are best served the day of though.
I made these last nite but left out the choco-chips. I melted the chips and glazed the tops. These were hands down the best pumpkin cookies I have tasted and I have made 4 or 5 different recipes. They are not super crispy, but they are not the normal cake like consistency I have come to expect from pumpkin. The pumpkin butter is the key. Next time, I will add the choco chips. On day 2, they are not really as crispy as day 1. But still yummy. I wonder if I left the egg or the baking powder out-would this make them even less cakey?
Melissa recently posted..Salmon Burgers and Spinach Salad with Blackberry Vinaigrette
I just thawed and baked the other half of the initial batch from 09/20. I also added dark choco chunks. The results are just as good as fresh. Really excellent-thanks for a wonderful recipe.
Melissa recently posted..Pumpkin Chiffon Pie
I just made these… I’m rather disappointed because I had wanted to take some to work tomorrow, and my kids and their friends already ate ALL of them! These were a HUGE hit and I will certainly be making them again soon :D.
Oh yay! You got me there though…I almost thought you didn’t like them!
My sister in law passed along the link to this recipe a few weeks ago when I was in the search for the perfect non-cakey pumpkin cookie. Thank you, thank you, thank you!! These are hands down, the best pumpkin cookie I’ve ever tasted and as a result HAD to share them on my blog!
I didn’t have cardamon, so I used cloves instead and they were divine! The pumpkin butter is absolutely the key to the perfect pumpkin cookie.
Love your blog!
I have to tell you that these are probably my favorite cookie ever. I found your recipe last fall, and haven’t looked back at those cakey pumpkin muffin tops. Thanks so much for this!
Liz recently posted..Allopathy- you have failed me yet again
Thanks so much Liz, that really means a lot to me!
These look great! What size is the can of pumpkin for the pumpkin butter, 15 oz or 29 oz?
The can I used was closer to 27 ounces (796 ml) So I would go with the 29 ounce.
I make pumpkin cookies most every year and am very excited to try your version. Can you please tell me how many cookies you generally get out of this recipe? Thanks for sharing this with us all! Happy Holidays.
Hello Dawn! This recipe makes about 24 cookies, of average size…
I am so happy to have found your crispy cookies. I have two in my family who are allergic to oranges. What do think about omitting the zest? Or substituting with lemon zest which may have an overpowering flavor. Thanks.
I would leave out the zest completely. They will still be delicious!
would crispy pumpkin recipe work with persimmon pulp?
Can’t say I know the answer to that question Barb, but as long as enough of the liquid is cooked out it should work…
I made these last night for a pre-Thanksgiving party with friends. I used a gluten free flour blend since I have Celiac. These are great! Such a great balance of favors. I didn’t measure the amount of orange rind I put in, so mine might be more… orange-y than normal, but I love it.
Thanks so much for the recipe!
how can i save this to recipe box?
Hi Olga, hit “Save Recipe” in the upper right hand corner…
I just made these and am eating one 20 mins after it finished cooking in the oven. While the taste is good, they are far from crispy. They are like little cookie cakes. I followed the recipe exactly with the exception of cardamon. I made the pumpkin butter the first way listed. I’m not sure I will repeat this recipe since I am a fan of crispy cookies like Otterbein’s or Tate’s.
This is still my go to recipe for pumpkin choco chip cookies!
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