Pumpkin puree works for me!

minimalistmommy@organizingconnection.com — Wed, 28 May 2008 01:53:02 GMT

I admit that I am an OK cook, I get by and have not hospitalized anyone...yet (that they told me about anyway) I am constantly learning and may go as far as saying I am improving with each passing day. When asked by a group or organization to bring some sort of sweet or dessert I find myself always going back to my ol faithful's of lemon poppy seed loaf, sourdough banana bread or butterscotch zucchini loaf. I was getting rather tired of these choices and frankly so were the recipients. I was constantly looking for a nice dessert that was fairly easy to make, portable and presentable...oh yeah and tasty. I think I found another winner.

I love pumpkin and I have numerous recipes from rolls to waffles that incorporate this tasty vegetable (or fruit?) Last fall I cooked and pureed several of these large gourds and froze them in 2 cup portions. It is with great sadness that I announce the final jar was used this past week. Several months back I went looking for some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies online and found several. Upon closer inspection I chose this one in particular due to the statement of "the cookies will be cake like in consistency" Now they are talking my language. I proceeded to thaw my pumpkin puree and whipped up the cookies with the required 1 cup while making the following changes. They called for 1/2 cup of oil to be added but I am always testing the waters in regards to substituting applesauce for the artery clogging liquid. I did, however, make note that they called for cinnamon as well so I made the decision to use my canned apple butter because it has spices cooked into it and it is thicker than traditional applesauce and would make up for the lack of oil. This is my version of this recipe:

1 c. sugar
1 c. pumpkin
1/2 c apple butter
1 egg

Mix together above ingredients.

Sift and add to above:

2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon (omit)
2 tsp. baking powder

Dissolve the next three ingredients and add to the first two batches along with the chocolate chips:

1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and cook for 12-12 minutes. Be careful to not overcook as you want them soft and moist. I line my sheets with aluminium foil and upon coming out of the oven lift the whole sheet from the pan to cool on the counter. This frees up my pan to start another sheet.

I personally think these cookies are the best....and I have tried 25 recipes for chocolate chip cookies and have yet to say that. They are truly cake like, light and moist and somewhat sticky. I make these when I am asked to bring a dessert and I never feel as though I have to sneak the tray in and pretend they were not mine, I am actually proud. The one downfall is that I did use canned pumpkin once and the results were not the same. I guess that comes from the fact commercial canned pumpkin is dense and thicker than homemade puree therefore producing dense and thick cookies. They were still good but not as good as the the original. Something to think about next fall when you have all of those jack o lanterns kicking around....remember these cookies.

For more tips on what works for others visit Rocks in my dryer.

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Pumpkin puree works for me!