Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

It rained in Los Angeles the other day. Really. It rained long enough for me to think for a second it was Fall. Long enough for me to explore tasty autumnesque recipes with anything pumpkin in the title. Long enough for me to throw on a flannel, layer Frye boots and thick striped socks over my tights. Long enough for me to cruise the aisles of Whole Foods for the ingredients to make these bad boys. And then it stopped. But already in the pumpkin spice spirit, it didn’t matter.

Selecting these Non-Cakey, Chewy, Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies, I couldn’t have been more thrilled. While I love pumpkin pie, muffins, breads, you name it – I, like the baker who shared this recipe with me, often times find them too spongy. This makes sense, as pumpkin is mostly water. Excited for chewy, not fluffy, pumpkin cookies, I preheated my oven and unloaded my groceries. It was here I encountered my first problem. Remember when I said pumpkins are mostly water? So for chewy, non-cakey, cookies this isn’t good. While I followed this logic, I hadn’t really thought through the process. Until I actually read the directions. And poured a can of pumpkin puree into a saucepan.  Reduced it.  Stirred it continuously. For FIFTY MINUTES. Turning it in to pumpkin bread crumbs. With an exhausted wrist and tendonitis of the elbow, I blended the crumbs in a food processor, making a pumpkin flour, if you will. Ugh. With the exception of the entirely predictable problem number two, setting me back three hours so the dough can chill, it was smooth sailing from there. With every appliance, bowl and measuring cup utilized, it looks like a pumpkin straight up exploded in my kitchen. But the cookies are delicious. Like whoa delicious. And if I can make them, anyone can. So have at it. Happy Fall, my little pumpkin pies. 

Recipe and image via The Knead for Speed