Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love the taste of pumpkin cookies, but I'm not a fan of the texture. I'm sure that's because pumpkin cookies are always cakey and I don't like cake.

Voila! This recipe solves that problem. Because there are no eggs, they don't have too much moisture so they are chewy and look like regular cookies. And they are oh so good!!

Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

(Makes about 5 dozen cookies)

2 sticks minus 2 Tbsp. butter (14 Tbsp.)*

2 cups brown sugar

½ cup sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. ginger

¼ tsp. nutmeg

¼ tsp. cloves

3 c. all-purpose flour

1 bag (12 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Cream together butter and sugars. Add the vanilla and pumpkin and mix until smooth. Combine all the dry ingredients and add to pumpkin mixture. Mix just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 11-17 minutes or until just starting to brown. Cool for 2 minutes before removing from pan.

*As for the butter, I know that's a weird amount. I only had that much on hand one day when I wanted to make these so I tried it and hoped for the best. They turned out the best ever so I make them that way every time! :)

Enjoy!! 

The Best Fortune

Yay! Sunshine and happiness - two of my favorite things! :)

Leading Up

Here are some of the activities that have kept us busy in the days leading up to Christmas:

Gingerbread houses with our friends.  Corn Pops and Candy Corn make great decor!

Sam's has more attention to the landscaping. You can tell he's our budding Botanist! I love the backyard pumpkin patch.

Soren went a little frosting crazy!

Sadie did a great job by herself!

I came up with this fun sign for Sadie's teacher.  She loved it!

Another teacher gift. 

We made miniature Santa's Underwear this year as a small favor to go with other gifts.  I like them even better than the big ones. They are only about 5" tall.  Cute!

My best attempt to make these cookies with this icing.  Mine may not be as cute, but they were delish!

Last but not least, a visit to our friend, Rosie, on her 90th birthday which happens to be today. 

Tonight we've already managed to lose a tooth (Sadie), practice our musical numbers for church tomorrow (Sam, Sterling and Savannah), and get ready for bed.  It's time for our family read-through of the Christmas story from Luke 2, setting out cookies for Santa, and - if my kids are anything like I was when I was little - lying in bed wide awake wondering if they'll ever be able to fall asleep in anticipation of the long-awaited day!

Merry Christmas!

Sunday Sugar Cookies

The chill in the air made yesterday feel like the perfect day for our once-a-year sugar cookies.  The combination of this frosting with candy corn is oh so good!  A fun Sunday afternoon activity.

Recipe: My New Favorite Cookie

Marta's Coconut Krispie Chocolate Chunk Cookies

You may think these look like any old chocolate chip cookie, but looks can be deceiving.  So you take a bite and you think, "Mmmmm....  Chocolate and...something else...what is that?  Is that coconut?  OH YUM!"  And then you notice the ever-so-slight crunch.  Rice Krispies?  No way!  Yep, these are seriously delicious.  I should know.  I've made them three times in the past 3 weeks.  I bake all 6 dozen and put 3 dozen in the freezer for later.  Obviously later comes pretty quick around here.  :)  We love them and so do any friends we've shared them with.  This one is a keeper!!

Hop on over here to meet the genius behind these yummy things.  Marta has the most delightful blog full of creativity and real life goodness.  I don't know her in person, but her older sister was roommates in college with my one of my high school friends so we're practically bff's.  Just kidding.  I mean, just kidding about the bff part.  The roomate/friend part is all true!  

Anyway, if you want to make a batch of these cookies yourself (and you should!), here is the recipe.  You're welcome!  :)

Recipe: Hamburger Cookies

I have my friend, Paula, to thank for these yummy little guys.  These are definitely my kids favorite hamburgers.  Pack meetings, school functions, or after-school snacks are much more fun when these are served!

They are super easy to make.  All you need:

• Vanilla Wafers
• Keebler Grasshopper cookies (Girl Scout Thin Mints work, too)
• Frosting

When Paula made these for us, she had green-tinted coconut on some of them to look like lettuce.  Some of my kids don't like coconut so I don't do that, but I love the look!

These are so easy to assemble that little hands can easily help.  Here's what you do:

Place a small amount of frosting on the flat side of a vanilla wafer.  This will act as the glue to keep the grasshopper cookie from sliding around.  Place a grasshopper cookie on the wafer then decorate the top of it with frosting.  Try to keep the frosting near the edges so you can see it when you're finished.

Place a vanilla wafer on the top of each.  See?  Super easy.  Makes about 3 dozen - or however many are in the grasshopper package.  Enjoy!

{Note:  I like to use the little decorating icing tubes.  They are easy, and the colors are rich.  You can make your own frosting, but if you use food coloring, your red will probably look more pink.}

Recipe: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have my friend, Dana, to thank for this recipe.  These cookies are so moist and chewy.  One batch makes about 5 dozen which should last for a while.  (Good luck with that...)  I bake the whole batch, fill a plate to munch on, and then freeze the rest and pull them out for my kids' school lunches.  Yum!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1  1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2  1/2 cups flour
2 cups milk chocolate chips (semi-sweet works, too)

Cream together butter, peanut butter, sugars and eggs.  Add dry ingredients and mix well.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Bake at 375º for 9-12 minutes.  Enjoy!

Recipe: Peppermint Balls

So maybe this recipe would have been more appropriate a month ago, but it's a perfect way to use up all those leftover peppermint candy canes.  And if you feel like making them when no candy canes are to be found, just use starlight mint hard candies.  So yummy!  Thanks to my friend, Diane, for sharing this recipe with me all those years ago.  We love them and make them every year.

Peppermint Balls

1/2 c. butter
3/4 c. powdered sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
1 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. peppermint candies, crushed

Cream ingredients together, stirring in crushed candy last.  Form into balls and bake for 10-12 minutes at 350º.  Do not over bake (they should be just barely browning around the edges).  Glaze with a powdered sugar and water mixture and top with some crushed candies.  (I sometimes add a little peppermint extract to the glaze, just for fun.)  Enjoy!

Chewy Gingersnaps

Is that an oxymoron?  Chewy Gingersnaps?  If you love the crunch of gingersnaps, this recipe is not for you...unless you bake them a lot longer!  But if soft and chewy cookies are what you crave, then whip up a batch of these yummy things and enjoy. 

Chewy Gingersnaps
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs, well-beaten
1/2 cup molasses
2 tsp. vinegar
3 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 T. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1.  Cream together butter and sugar.
2.  Stir in eggs, molasses, and vinegar.
3.  Sift and add remaining ingredients.  Mix until blended.
4.  Hand-form into 3/4" balls or use a cookie scoop.
5.  Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet (sprinkle a little coarse sugar on them if you like) and bake at 325º for 10-12 minutes or until barely brown around the edges.

They might not look quite done as they will still appear puffy; they will flatten after you remove them from the oven.  Let cool on the cookie sheet for two minutes before removing them to a rack.  For crispier gingersnaps, add 2-3 minutes to the baking time.  The dough freezes well. 

Note:  I found this recipe on the internet several years ago.  Unfortunately, I didn't save the link so I don't know where I got it.  The only information on the recipe is a generic name, "Unknownchef86."  So, to Unknownchef86, (whoever you are) thanks for a great recipe!

Christmas Cookies

We have a basic chocolate cookie recipe that is made often (usually by Savannah) at our house.  The cookies are “delish”, as Sadie says, but especially so when we dress them up a bit for Christmas.  Here’s the basic recipe, followed by the extra Christmas treat:

Fudgy Chocolate Cookies

1 box Devil’s Food Cake Mix

1/2 c. oil

2 eggs

1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:  Combine dry cake mix, oil, and eggs.  Mix well.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Use a cookie scoop or drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350º for 8-11 minutes.  Do not overbake.  SO Easy!

And here’s how to dress them up for the holidays…

Minty Chocolate Christmas Cookies

Bake as directed, but as soon as you take them out of the oven, top each cookie with a Candy Cane flavored Hershey Kiss*.  Bake for an additional 30 seconds, remove from oven and let stand for 2 minutes.  Then spread the kiss like frosting.  Allow to completely cool — if you can wait that long — before eating.  Yumm-o! (*see instructions below for our current way of decorating the cookies.)

[*August 2021 update: Instead of melting the kisses on top of the cookies, I open all the kisses (~30 kisses per batch) and microwave them in a small glass bowl, stirring after each 30 second increment, until completely melted. It should only take a minute or just barely longer. Pour into a ziplock bag and cut off a tiny corner then pipe the peppermint onto each cookie, back and forth in stripes or however you want to do it. These are a favorite of Soren and several of his friends. :)]

Pillow Cookies

Whenever Jeff makes his homemade buttermilk pancakes with buttermilk syrup, there is always buttermilk leftover. These super soft cookies are just the thing to use it up. Don’t be afraid to make a double batch because they disappear quick!

PILLOW COOKIES (Buttermilk Cookies)

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2-1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup buttermilk

FROSTING:
3 Tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
3-1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts, optional

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk and mix well. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 375º for 10-12 minutes (I usually only bake mine for about 9 or so) or until edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks or aluminum foil to cool. For frosting, combine butter, sugar, milk and vanilla in a bowl. Beat until smooth. Frost cookies; sprinkle with walnuts if desired (I like to use sprinkles or colored sugar on top). Makes about 3 dozen. (Note: I can frost all the cookies with 1/2 batch of the frosting.)

From Quick Cooking Magazine.