Goof Proof Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mmmm......

We had a recipe swap the other day for an enrichment activity and I thought why not share the recipe with my other friends that aren't in Chicago.


Now this is a recipe pasted down generations from a wise baker who spent years perfecting the perfect Pumpkin Chocolate cookie recipe. No not really! This recipe originates from the many visits to the Smith's bakery in West Jordan, Utah. Every fall my family would make frequent trips to the Smith's bakery for their seasonal pumpkin chocolate cookies. It never seemed like fall was here until we had those pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. It was not until we moved from Utah to Wisconsin that we began to venture into the idea of making our own pumpkin cookies. We looked in vain in Wisconsin for pumpkin cookies but we never were successful in finding the cookies that made it officially autumn.  On one fall visit back to Utah my father mentioned to one of the bakers at Smith's how much we loved the pumpkin cookies and they gave us the recipe. 

The amazing thing is that the recipe is so simple that I can give it to you in picture....

Got it?! ok done.

Just kidding. But it really is that simple. All you need is a spice cake mix, a can (about 15 oz) of pumpkin, an egg and chocolate chips-about 3/4 of a 12 oz bag(I like it best with semi sweet but different strokes for different folks). Set the oven to 350 and bake for about 12-15 min or how ever long it take for the middle of the cookie to spring back after you touch it gently in the middle. The size of the cookie will dictate how long it needs to stay in the oven. But I have found if the cookies are about the size of a golf ball it takes about 15 min. 

For most church functions I make a double batch, mostly because Chaz usually eats a half of a batch  before the cookies make it to church. Which is fine because there are usually none at the end of the potluck. 

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Some experimentation I have done with this recipe includes:

• Using a chocolate cake mix instead of spice cake. You don't get a very pumpkiny (yeah its a word) cookie but its still a great cookie in my book
• Added another egg= gives the cookies a lighter cake like consistency but I still like the dense cookies you get with one egg. The consistency is closer to what you get when you buy the Smith's bakery cookies

Some experimentation I would like to do with this recipe:

• Nix the chocolate chips, make the cookies a little smaller and use cream cheese frosting to make pumpkin whoopie pies. If you don't know what whoopie pies are you haven't lived.
• Making the cookies in June. Chaz is convinced that the cookies would be great any day of the year. I just think it would be so weird eating them in the summer. You don't eat pumpkin pie on the 4th of July do you? It just doesn't seem right like a Kardashian on Jeopardy. But prove me wrong.