PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

It's October, which means we can officially add pumpkin to just about anything and no longer feel weird about it! Ha. Am I the only one who makes pumpkin baked goods all year round? I hope not.

I made these cookies yesterday and decided to re-post it because it's such a great recipe. The original recipe is here. If you've never had these, the cookie is more cake-like: light, fluffy and thicker than your typical cookie. I took 3 dozen to a family dinner yesterday and came home with...nothing! I swear my father-in-law hid any that were leftover. I like to double the recipe and keep some dough in the freezer for those times when you just need one and the in-laws ate all those you brought over.

If you don't have canned pumpkin, use fresh! Even jack-o-lantern pumpkin puree works well in these cookies. You can read more about how to cook fresh pumpkins here.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup canned pumpkin {plain pumpkin}
1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 TBSP vanilla extract {tablespoon!}
1- 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Mix pumpkin, sugar, oil and the egg until well blended. Add the spices. Slowly mix in flour and remaining ingredients. The dough will be very soft and sticky- i prefer to use a cookie scoop for the next step...

Drop large spoonfuls on a greased cookie sheet. Don't bother making them look pretty- the cookies will puff up a bit and even out any rough edges. {If you don't have a cookie scoop, ~~go buy one now~~ use two spoons. You might also want to stick the dough in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to make it easier to work with, however, it's not really necessary.}