Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I know the season for pumpkin-things has basically passed, but my general philosophy is eat what you want when you want it. All in moderation. So this week I wanted something pumpkin. This recipe is just a simple twist on the traditional chocolate chip cookie, but it's a twist that I think makes a world of difference. By adding pumpkin puree to the cookie batter, you get a fall and winter-appropriate cookie great for the holidays.

Ingredients (makes roughly 30 cookies)

1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
A little less than 1/4 tsp nutmeg
A little less than 1/4 tsp gound cloves
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup, about half a bag, of dark chocolate chips

Procedure 

1) Heat oven to 350 degrees and line your cookie trays with parchment paper.

2) In a medium sized mixing bowl, beat the butter with a mixer until smooth. Beat in the white and brown sugar until the mixture is fluffy. Add in the egg and continue to beat, followed by the vanilla extract and pumpkin puree. Feel free to use more than 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree, it's really a matter of preference.

3) In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the baking soda, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and salt.

4) Slowly add the wet batter to the flour mixture and beat until smooth and the batter is one even texture. Stir in the chocolate chips until they're evenly distributed.

5) Use a small ice scream scoop to scoop the cookie dough onto the cookie sheets. Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges look crisp. Once cooked, allow the cookies to cool before removing from the sheet.

I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year and a great start to 2013. With all of these holidays underway, I must say I've really been missing my sister lately, who's been in London now for 6 months. Exactly two months ago we were in France together traveling with our friend Nisha. It was the perfect vacation except for the fact that it had to end.

Me and Rona in Nice, France

She'll be happy to know one of my New Year's resolutions this year is to stick to our FaceTime at least once a week rule.

Happy New Year everyone!

~ Alyssa