Chocolate Caramel Chip Pumpkin Cookies

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

Last week, my daughters went to the pumpkin patch with their preschool. Yep, while I was working crazy hours to finish grading papers for first quarter, they were wandering around a farm, gazing at chickens and goats and picking pumpkins. Oh, to be four years old again.

When my eldest daughter got home, she shoved her pumpkin at me and said in her serious little-girl way, “My teacher says you have to make soup.”

I took the pumpkin, sighed (this is an annual struggle as I literally cook the fruits of my childrens’ labor), and said, “How about cookies?”

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

My daughter, who is occasionally reasonable, agreed. But then I faked her out. You see, I’ve gotten smarter over the years. The first year this happened, I actually cooked the pumpkin. This year, I hid it and used the canned stuff to make cookies. It’s smoother and works better anyway.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

You’ll notice that the majority of pumpkin cookie recipes circulating these days have no egg. A lot of that has to do with moisture. Pumpkin binds and adds moisture, so the egg is not as necessary when you make these little guys. But I’m not gonna pretend that these are healthy, because yeah, there’s butter.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

The dough is very soft and needs to be chilled. I put in those caramel-filled chocolate chips and they worked so well with the pumpkin, but improvise. A ton of other options work just as well, from white chocolate to butterscotch chips. Happy sighs all around. And they’re definitely better on the second day. They get really soft and chewy.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

Listen, there’s not much I can do to stop my kids from flooding the house with pumpkins every year. All I can do is fake them out and make dessert. It’s a fabulous defensive maneuver.

 

Chocolate Caramel Chip Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 and 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
3/4 cup caramel-filled Nestle chocolate chips (reserve a few to press into the top after baking)

Instructions

  1. In a bowl, mix the melted butter and the sugars until smooth. Add the vanilla and pumpkin, stirring until fully combined.
  2. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Combine the pumpkin mixture with the dry ingredients and stir until a soft batter forms. Fold in the chocolate chips, reserving a few for after baking.
  3. Cover the bowl. Chill the dough anywhere from 3 hours to overnight.
  4. When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
  5. Using between 1-2 tablespoons of dough, form tall mounds and place them 2 inches apart on your baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes.
  6. Remove the cookies from the oven and press extra caramel-filled chocolate chips into the tops. Cool completely.
  7. Store in an airtight container. Cookies taste better the next day.
http://justaboutbaked.com/chocolate-caramel-chip-pumpkin-cookies/

Mir

I fulfill many roles in life: wife, mother, teacher, everlasting learner. This site is dedicated to one role that expresses my creativity in ways that I find consistently challenging and rewarding: baker. Inventing new ways to enhance food, especially if that food involves chocolate or peanut butter (or both!), is a passion of mine. I look forward to sharing my ideas with you.

This Post Has 22 Comments

  1. Rachel Cooks

    Caramel filled chips in pumpkin cookies is a genius move! These look great!

    1. Mir

      Thanks so much, Rachel! I love those filled chips. Can’t use them enough!

  2. Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice

    I love the looks of these chocolate chip pumpkin cookies, Mir! Pumpkin always makes cookies extra soft and so full of flavor. And those caramel filled chocolate chips are my favorite! I add them to everything, they’re just so good!
    Gayle @ Pumpkin ‘N Spice recently posted…Creamy Pumpkin SoupMy Profile

    1. Mir

      We’re on the same wavelength then, Gayle! Those chips could go anywhere and I’d eat them. Thanks much!

  3. Mira

    I’m loving these caramel chocolate chips Mir! The cookies look soft and thick! Pumpkin pure always works better, than having to cook the whole pumpkin!
    Mira recently posted…Pumpkin Cake Roll RecipeMy Profile

    1. Mir

      I know. I’ll lie to my kid forever to avoid having to puree another pumpkin this year. Thanks, Mira!

  4. Michele @ Two Raspberries

    chocolate chip pumpkin cookies are amazing but when you add caramel chips, wow! takes it to a whole new level of delicious-ness! 😉
    Michele @ Two Raspberries recently posted…Veggie Fried Rice Vegan and Gluten FreeMy Profile

    1. Mir

      Agreed, Michele! Man, do I love caramel!

  5. Manali @ CookWithManali

    I’m dying to get my hands on these caramel filled chocolate chips…no luck so far! The cookies sound amazing Mir!
    Manali @ CookWithManali recently posted…Caramel Pecan BrowniesMy Profile

    1. Mir

      Aww, I’m sorry to hear that, Manali! Keep trying!

  6. Thalia @ butter and brioche

    Any type of chocolate chip cookie is an instant hit in my books. These look delicious Mir, the addition of pumpkin is also so perfect seasonally right now too!
    Thalia @ butter and brioche recently posted…Strawberry and Rose Whipped RouladeMy Profile

    1. Mir

      Thanks, Thalia! I’m with you on chocolate chip cookies. Resistance is futile!

  7. Caralyn @ glutenfreehappytummy

    you had me at chocolate. and caramel. and pumpkin haha 🙂
    Caralyn @ glutenfreehappytummy recently posted…PALEO PUMPKIN PIE! GF, SCD & Paleo!My Profile

    1. Mir

      How can anybody resist that combo, Caralyn? Love how you spell your name, by the way! Can’t wait to check out your site for my GF husband!

  8. Stacey @ Bake.Eat.Repeat.

    I love pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, and adding caramel is a great idea. Going to have to try that!
    Stacey @ Bake.Eat.Repeat. recently posted…Pumpkin Cheesecake Swirled BrowniesMy Profile

    1. Mir

      Thanks, Stacey! I feel that way about caramel in pretty much everything. It can only help, right?

  9. ami@naivecookcooks

    Caramel and chocolate chips with pumpkin!!! Girl send me some!
    ami@naivecookcooks recently posted…Chicken Malvani (Spicy Chicken In Coconut Gravy) with Cumin-Pomegranate RiceMy Profile

    1. Mir

      Wish I could, Ami! My kids ate them all. Except for the ones I got to first. Life is tough!

  10. Mary Frances

    Oh man, cooking pumpkins is such a pain. I did it one year, in the name of experimenting and natural cooking … worst decision ever. We fakers are gonna fake fake fake and the haters gonna hate hate hate … but I’m just gonna bake bake bake bake … shake it off 🙂
    Love these cookies! Pinned!

    1. Mir

      Ah, Taylor Swift. You must be in high school?
      Thanks for the pin, Mary Frances!

  11. Jocelyn@Brucrewlife

    Haha, I love that you got “smarter” and hid the pumpkin! 😉 The canned stuff is definitely the way to go! These cookies look awesome. Yum!
    Jocelyn@Brucrewlife recently posted…Frosted Eggnog BreadMy Profile

    1. Mir

      Thanks, Jocelyn! I get smarter as I age. It takes several years of mommy hood to get there, though!

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