Baking with Blaire: Pumpkin Patch Cookies

Today’s recipe is brought to you by Blaire, Dinners With Dan‘s newest featured contributor!

The weather may be starting to cool down, but Dinners With Dan is about to heat back up. Thanks to all my friends who are contributing to the blog, and for all of you for being patient these last couple weeks while I’ve gone through some big life changes. More on that to come, but I’ll be back up and posting myself very very soon!

In the meantime, I’m extraordinarily excited to introduce the newest feature at Dinners With Dan: Baking With Blaire. One of my best friends from college, Blaire is going to be sharing a couple of her favorite baking recipes with us each month, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. The recipe she is sharing today definitely put me in the mood for some Fall treats, and I hope when you’re finished reading, not only do you want to try this delicious recipe, but you want to bake and get out to the pumpkin patch too!

Fall is by far my favorite season. It has my two fave holidays, Halloween and Thanksgiving. Nature throws a party with confetti colored leaves. I get to wear all my fall clothes and boots. But most of all, I can start making all the Fall and Winter baked goods I’ve been craving since the start of Spring. Zucchini bread, banana nut muffins, cranberry bundt cake, and above everything else, PUMPKIN ANYTHING. Seriously guys, I’m obsessed. I have a problem. So, in order to feed my addiction, the first thing I bake when September 1st rolls around are my Pumpkin Patch Cookies.

Now, I live in Las Vegas where (I’m sure you all know) the heat is unbearable and turning on the oven only makes the interior of my house feel like the surface of the sun that much more. But, I’m willing to make the exception and turn on the oven so I can indulge in these bad boys despite the lingering summer heat.

Pumpkin Patch Cookies

What You’ll Need:

1 16oz. canned pumpkin
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3-4 teaspoons milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

How to Make It:

1) Preheat oven to 350°F.
2) Spray a light layer of Pam on a tin-foil covered baking sheet.
3) Mix all ingredients together in large mixing bowl.
4) Using a serving spoon (or any large spoon, really) scoop out individual plops of dough onto the sprayed cooking sheet.
5) Put the baking sheet in the oven and cook between 12-17 minutes depending on the size of the dough scoops.
6) After each batch finishes, use a spatula to put cookies on a cooling rack or another plate before eating.

Some Notes:

One batch makes between 12-24 cookies depending on the size of scoop.
Cooking time also varies depending on scoop size. Small scoops, less time. Bigger scoops, more time. Duh.
I usually put 10 minutes on the timer and do a toothpick test to see how much longer to bake them. Be sure to watch them so they don’t burn!
Also, these cookies are supposed to have the consistency and firmness of freshly baked bread. Do not expect thin, crunchy cookies.

In addition to being a cinch to make, this recipe is also extremely customizable. Instead of just two cups of regular chocolate chips, there are other great variations you can do. Here are a few of the ones I’ve tried:

1 cup chocolate chips, 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 cup white or milk chocolate chips, 1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup chocolate chips, 1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup raisins, 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 cup raisins, 1 cup chocolate chips
2 cups of your fave chip or nut

Any way you make them, these cookies are the perfect way to get you through the drudgery of hump day and say “Hey Fall, heeeeey!”

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Thanks so much for this recipe, Blaire! I can’t wait until your next Baking With Blaire post!

As always, if you feel inspired to make this delicious recipe, let me know how it goes! Tweet me, comment below, or post on the Dinners With Dan Facebook page!

Until next time, happy cooking!