Pumpkin Cookie Paradise

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I don’t cook. I occasionally bake, and since dessert is the best meal of the day, you wouldn’t think this chocoholic would mess up goodies. Guess again. I do have one specialty, though, one cookie which the hubby asks for year round and I have to tell him he needs to wait until fall.

I was working in the lab years ago when a co-worker brought in the most wonderful cookies. I begged her for the recipe. The next year when I brought in the same cookies, this co-worker asked me for the recipe. I was stumped. Isn’t this your recipe? Nope, she denied it. So I really don’t know where this came from. I have to tell you though that the key is real pumpkin, not the stuff from a can. So here we go. This is how I spent my weekend. 

Cut open a pumpkin, cut it in a few pieces, clean out all the seeds and gunk. Bake it in a 350 degree oven until it feels soft when you poke it with a fork. I have no idea how long that is – always longer than I plan for. I also did two pumpkins, two different varieties. 

When the baked pumpkin is cooled, cut off the dried edges and cut the good stuff into pieces which your food processor can handle. I really did not take enough pictures of this messy process. These are times when it would be nice if the hubby would take pictures for me.

Then you have to take a break and get some sleep. I told you this is a process, by which I meant a two-day process.

Ok, the cookies.

I mix the dry ingredients first – in a huge bowl.

                4 cups four, sometimes if the pumpkin is really juicy, I add another cup of flour

                2 cups rolled oats

                1 tsp salt

                2 tsp baking soda

                2 tsp cinnamon

Mix the moist ingredients and blend well.

                1 ½ cups margarine, softened

                2 cups brown sugar

                1 cup white sugar

                1 egg

                1 tsp vanilla

                2 cups pumpkin

Dump the moist ingredients into the dry ingredients. Add one to two cups of chocolate chips.

Drop the dough onto greased cookie sheets – they must be greased and you have to grease them if you reuse them. I also use one of those cookie scoops, it is way easier than using two spoons to make the cookies.

 Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. This makes a huge batch – I got just shy of seven dozen today – and because they take so long to bake, plan on spending the day in the kitchen. But it is so worth it! These freeze great also. And freeze the remaining pureed pumpkin in freezer baggies or containers, measuring out two cups in each, so that they are ready to go for the next batch of cookies.