A Taste of Fall...

Well, here we are, a good 2 weeks into November, and it's still in the high 70's and 80's every day and the greenery in the neighborhood has not changed one bit. I'll admit that - compared to the weather some people are dealing with right now - it's quite comfortable. I enjoy not having to worry about being cold or wet when I go outside. However, I am missing out on my favorite season of the year and it's really bumming me out.

I got to thinking recently that if it doesn't look or feel like autumn outside, at least I can use my other senses to celebrate the "season". So, I've been busy in the kitchen of late, whipping up little tastes of fall.

Pumpkin is my new favorite baking ingredient. There's really nothing better than the warm aroma of pumpkin and cinnamon wafting through your air conditioned house. ;^) A couple weeks ago I made pumpkin bread for friends and visiting family. Last night I made 2 dozen soft and gooey pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. We enjoyed a few too many with some friends from church who came over for dinner, so I sent the rest to work with James this morning. I'm tellin' you - those were some of the best cookies I've ever had (with the exception of my grandmother's no-bake chocolate oatmeal cookies). So I thought I'd share the recipe.

Wishing you all happy baking and a tasty pre-holiday season!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes about 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

1. Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
2. Add vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts.
3. Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.

* I left them in for longer than 10 minutes, but they were still extremely soft (to the point that I worried if they were cooked enough). However, if you let them set up for about 20 minutes they will be perfectly light and spongy. =^)