Pumpkin and Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

I finally got around to using up some of the frozen pumpkin puree I made in the fall from my jarrahdale pumpkins. Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are one of my favorite ways to use pumpkin puree (probably because it involves chocolate).

I have a feeling this recipe may vary wildly depending on the type of pumpkin you use (i.e. store-bought versus homemade, water content, amount of stringy pumpkin bits, etc). I've made it a few times and it's always slightly different, but always good too!

Pumpkin and dark chocolate chip cookies

*These are not your typical crunchy/chewy chocolate chip cookies, so don't expect them to turn out that way. These cookies are very dense and cake-like.

1 cup pumpkin puree (canned or homemade)

¾ cup sugar

½ cup vegetable oil (yes, this sounds kind of gross if you're not used to baking with oil, but this replaces the butter)

1 egg

2 cups flour

2 t baking powder

1 t cinnamon

½ t salt

1 t baking soda

1 t milk

1 cup semi sweet or dark chocolate chips (I think this is a little skimpy. I like to have a chocolate chip in every single bit, so feel free to add another ½ cup)

1 t vanilla

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Dissolve the baking soda in the milk in a small bowl. In a large mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, sugar, oil, and egg. Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda/milk mixture. Stir to combine. Add chocolate chips and vanilla. Spoon onto baking sheets.   Bake 10-12 minutes.

*I have found that an ice cream scoop works well for spooning out the cookies because this batter is extremely gummy and sticky.

*Although this may vary depending on the type of pumpkin you use, these cookies do not spread much when I make them, so you can put them fairly close together on the baking pan.