Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Dark Chocolate

NIt’s hard to know what to say about these Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Dark Chocolate.

It’s hard to say because they were gone in a flash. I did manage to get my mouth around one of them, though – the notorious and ornery pumpkin spice cookie known as Grumpy Pumpy:
All I remember is a drive-by assault of cinnamon, clove, and allspice delivered in a soft chewy cookie stuffed with the flavors of pumpkin and dark chocolate. It was pretty awesome. Then, the cookies were gone in a blur of kids, soccer players, and husbands (ok, just one husband) getting their share.

The king of pumpkin spice cookies has been crowned.

If there are any dissention in the ranks regarding this revelation, you’ll meet the same fate as Grumpy Pumpy. I’ll eat you.

Here’s the 4-1-1 on this recipe:

• First of all, it is egg-free! You know what that means. Go ahead and stuff your mouth full of batter. It’s alright 🙂

• Also, the pumpkin packs a wallop of vitamin A, as well as a good dose of vitamin C and iron.

• Surprisingly, the whole wheat flour doesn’t weigh these cookies down, but does deliver on fiber, iron, and B vitamins

• If you don’t have all the spices below, you can substitute with pumpkin pie spice for the total amount.

• Because the batter is darker in color, it’s harder to tell when the cookies are done. Don’t over-bake! 10-12 minutes should be enough time to dry the edges but leave the centers moist and chewy.

Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Dark Chocolate
Makes 2 and 1/2 dozen

Prep time: 15 minutes     Wait time: 30 minutes      Bake time: 10-12 minutes

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon clove
1/2 teaspoon allspice
3/4 cup butter (1 and 1/2 sticks), melted
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup dark chocolate chips

In a small bowl, combine the flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and spices. Stir with a whisk or fork until evenly combined, and set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix together the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Stir until well combined, pressing out any lumps of brown sugar. Once it is smooth, stir in the vanilla and pumpkin, and combine well.

Next, add the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture, and stir until well combined. Finally, stir in the dark chocolate chips.

Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes before forming the cookies.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Next, line cookie sheets either with silicone mat, parchment paper, or thin layer of spray oil. Using about 2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie, roll each into a ball with wet hands. Set them about 1 inch apart on the cookie sheet, then flatten them slightly with your hand or the bottom of a glass dipped in water. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are dry.

Allow them to cool for several minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a rack to finish cooling.

Cookies will stay fresh up to a week in an airtight container.

~ENJOY~