“I am seeking.
I am striving.
I am in it with all my heart.”
To be completely honest, I am not really a big fan of pumpkin. It doesn’t really have much flavor and I believe there are various other squash that are better for both savory and sweet recipes. That’s why last year I decided to make homemade butternut squash purée. With that purée I made Brown Butter “Pumpkin” Chocolate Chip Cookies but used the butternut squash purée. And those cookies are AMAZING. They are 9385439 times better than the Pumpkin Choc Chip Cookies that you get from the store.
I decided that this year I wanted to take that recipe up a notch. Enter in, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip and Candied Pecan Cookies. I boosted these cookies up by adding some candied pecans because, well, candied pecans make every cookie better! However, this year I thought I would give you all a break and skip the extra steps of having to roast and purée a whole butternut squash for only 6 tablespoons of it. So this weeks recipe uses Libby’s Pumpkin Purée. I prefer Libby’s because it has no added ingredients and has a relatively low moisture content. The pumpkin purée in this recipe acts as the binging agent so that’s why there are no eggs in these cookies. That is also why it is important to use a low moisture purée so your cookies have structure. You can get Libby’s at almost every grocery store nowadays so do yourself a favor and use that brand!
Like I said earlier, these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip and Candied Pecan Cookies have loads of gooey melty chocolate but they also have candied pecans in them. Don’t be intimidated! Candied pecans are super easy to make. You just cook the pecans in some butter, maple syrup, and salt. Voila! Candied pecans. You then just chop them up and add them to the cookie dough. The combination of warm spices, chocolate, and candied pecans make a cookie that screams fall/winter. These are seriously the perfect cookie to make and gift to your friends, coworkers, or family members… or to eat yourself, just saying.
This recipe also includes browned butter which, if you have never made, is very easy to make and adds a TON of flavor. Browned butter is just butter that has been toasted. Butter has milk solids in it and when you melt butter and cook it a little longer those milk solids get toasty brown. This results in a butter with toasted and nutty notes. Browned butter goes well in any recipe but I really think it is particularly delicious in cookies.
This recipe is also amazing because you don’t need to have a stand mixer. You really just combine everything in one bowl and that’s it. The result? Perfectly cakey, chewy, and spiced Pumpkin Chocolate Chip and Candied Pecan Cookies. You will not want to stop eating these cookies and trust me, they will not last long anywhere they are. And hey, it’s the season to give and be thankful and these cookies are the perfect way to express that!
If you try this recipe, or any other from the blog, let me know! I would love to hear your thoughts/feedback or see your photos. Happy baking everyone and Happy Thanksgiving!
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip and Candied Pecan Cookies
Ingredients
For the Cookies
8 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
¼ Cup Brown Sugar, tightly packed
½ Cup Granulated White Sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
6 Tablespoons Pumpkin Purée (I use Libby’s)
1 ½ Cups All Purpose Flour
¼ Baking Soda
¼ Baking Powder
½ Teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 ½ Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
¼ Teaspoon Ground Cardamom
¼ Teaspoon Ground Cloves
¾ Cup Dark Chocolate Chunks
1 Cup Candied Pecans, roughly chopped
For the Candied Pecans
1 Cup Halved Pecans
2 Tablespoons Butter
¼ Cup Maple Syrup
¼ Teaspoon Kosher Salt
Directions
Make the Candied Pecans
In a medium-sized saucepan, toast the pecans over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes or until they start to smell toasty and aromatic.
Turn the heat down to medium and add the butter and toss until the butter is fully melted and coating the pecans.
Add in the maple syrup and salt and stir to evenly combine all of the ingredients. Continue to cook the pecans until the mixture is thick and glossy, about three minutes.
Dump the pecans onto a sheet of parchment paper and let cool completely. Once cooled, roughly chop into pieces.
Make the Cookies
Preheat oven to 350ºf and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a small saucepan, add the butter and turn the heat to medium-low. Cook the butter, swirling around the butter occasionally, until it begins to brown and smells nutty, about five minutes.
In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the melted browned butter, brown sugar, white granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and pumpkin purée until fully combined. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, kosher salt, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves until evenly combined.
Add the wet ingredients straight into the dry ingredients and mix with a rubber spatular just until combined— do not over mix or else the cookies will become tough.
Add in the chocolate chunks and candied pecans and mix just until evenly distributed.
Using a cookie scoop, take a small amount of dough (about 2 tablespoons) and place onto the baking sheet, spacing the balls of dough about 2 inches apart as the cookies will spread as they bake. Repeat with the remaining cookie dough.
Bake the cookies for 13-14 minutes or until the cookies are just slightly brown around the edges. The cookies will be very puffy and might look a little under-baked, but don’t worry! They are fully baked. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheets and then transfer them to a cooling rack.
The cookies can be stored in an airtight container and kept at room temperature for 3-4 days or in the fridge for up to a week.