It really is my favourite time of year, don't ask me why, once I get started I won't stop talking about it.
Me and my boyfriend just got back from this beautiful roadtrip through the north-east of the United States and I got all this inspiration for baking with my FAVORITE ingredient for this time of year: Pumpkin.
I always joke about how I want pumpkin everything this time of year and I must say I did a good job while being in America. I had pumpkin spice fudge, pumpkin spice yoghurt, pumpkin spice latte (I mean, duh...), pumpkin pie, pumkin muffins, pumpkin donuts, pumpkin pancakes... Do you want me to go on? Pumpkin everything.
Has anyone ever been to New England during the fall? I mean, really, it is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. All these maple trees that turn deep red and I don't know what other trees I saw but some were bright orange and others bright yellow. You want to take pictures the whole time!
And the weather was good too, lots of blue skies and sunshine and the crisp mornings and the smell of fallen leaves on the moist ground... See, there I go!
So anyway, I stacked up on Libby's pumpkin puree, wich can't be bought here in Holland, or let's say it's very hard to find and once you find it, it turns out way too expensive.
And today, yes today, we only came back yesterday, but today I felt like baking pumpkin cookies and I found this recipe on 'two peas and their pod' that I simply had to try. It contains cinnamon chips, something also unavaileble in this country, but maybe you can leave them out or try to find a substitude. I bought a bag during our roadtrip, along with many other flavours.
So here's the list of ingredients, adopted from two peas and their pod:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup pumpkin (I used Libby's canned pumpkin)
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup cinnamon chips
Cinnamon Sugar Topping:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
I, however, didn't seem to get a dough, it was more like a batter. So I added some more flour, and then some more and a little more until, I think, I added almost double the amount of flour!
I don't know what I did wrong, but at least now I had a dough, still a bit moist, but I think that's okay.
What I didn't do was double the amount of spices and I realised that when the cookies were already in the oven. Not so clever.
But after a while the kitchen started to smell really good, wich was a relief, because a good smell is almost always good news.
They taste really good, but I like the taste of all the spices, so next time if I have to add that much flour I will defenitly add more spices! Maybe next time I'll just make double the dry ingredient recipe and just keep adding till I like the consistency of the dough. (Not the baking soda and baking powder, the cookies did rise well.)
Let's get to it:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (170 degrees Celcius) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
In a bowl combine the flour, the salt, baking powder, baking soda and the spices. Make sure you stir well with a whisk to make sure there are no lumbs of baking powder of baking soda. Set aside.
In another (large) bowl mix the butter with the sugars until soft and fluffy, this might take a few minutes.
Add the pumpkin, the egg and the vanilla extract (I only used 1 tablespoon) and keep mixing for another 2 to 3 minutes.
Gradually add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Then gently fold in the cinnamon chips.
Roll the dough into balls, the original recipe says tablespoon size balls, mine were a bit bigger, I like big cookies. Dip them in the sugar and cinnamon mixture, make sure they're completely covered and put them on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
With the back of a spoon or with the mouse of your hand gently press them down.
Bake the cookies for 10 - 12 minutes, depending on your oven and how you like them, soft or a little crisp all the way trough. I baked them for about 15 minutes, because I made them a little bigger. They are still somewhat soft inside.
You won't regret this, these cookies are a hit! I'm really glad I made them, I don't think they'll last long. Please tell me what you think!
