Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Do you prefer cookies or muffins?  Well, now you can have your pick.  Or, if you can’t make up your mind, make both!  That’s what I did today.

I love the cake-like, moist texture of pumpkin cookies.  My first attempt at pumpkin cookies last month came out a little too moist.  Excellent for eating, but not sturdy enough to pack with lunch or send to a friend.  So this is my second, much improved attempt.  Still moist, but slightly sturdier for travel.

The dough is very moist, so I recommend using a spoon to plop dough onto the baking sheet.  I normally use just a sheet of parchment on the baking sheet, but the first batch stuck to the parchment a little bit.  Spritzing the parchment with a light mist of cooking spray remedies this problem.

They will spread slightly when baked, so give ‘em a little breathing room!

These cookies are a birthday gift, and will be traveling halfway across the country.  I did sample one just to make sure that they’re good enough for the birthday recipient (who is hopefully not reading this post)!  To prevent myself from sampling the whole batch, I made the muffin version as my weekly muffin fix.

So, now you’ve got your choice.  Cookies, below.  Muffins, over here.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
By Simple Math Bakery
Adapted from My Baking Addiction
Yield: 24 cookies

1 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice*
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon buttermilk (you can also use regular milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°.  Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray, or line with parchment and then spray with cooking spray.  The cooking spray is important, even if you’re using parchment. These cookies like to stick to the pan!

In a large bowl, stir together the pumpkin, sugar, applesauce, and egg.  In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.  In a small bowl, combine the baking soda and buttermilk to form a paste.

Stir the flour mixture and baking soda mixture into the pumpkin mixture.  Add vanilla extract and chocolate chips, stirring to combine.  Drop by spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are firm and just starting to brown around the edges.

Place the baking sheet on a cooling rack for 5 minutes, then remove cookies from pan and allow to cool completely on the rack.

*If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice on hand, it’s easy to mix your own!  I used 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon, 1 tablespoon ground nutmeg, 4 teaspoons ground ginger, and 1 teaspoon ground allspice.