Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies I

This time of year, I wonder about the first colonial woman who, at a loss for traditional British baking ingredients, thought to cut up a pumpkin, roast it, scrape out its flesh, and mix it with sugar and spices for pumpkin pie. Whoever she was, I applaud her ingenuity. Without her, we might not have canned pumpkin. And without canned pumpkin, we probably wouldn’t have pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.

As these baked, I told Mike that someone should make a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie-scented candle, because they filled our house with a sweet, spicy aroma that was not unlike something you’d inhale at the Yankee Candle shop. Fortunately, these cookies taste as good as they smell.

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 15 ounces pumpkin
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Line several baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugars.

Add pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla; mix well.

Slowly add flour mixture and beat until well combined.

Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.

Using a two-inch cookie scoop, drop scoops of dough about two inches apart on the baking sheet.

Bake 18 minutes, until edges are lightly browned.

Cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet, then cool completely on a wire rack.