If you need a little fall reboot before diving all into Thanksgiving, give these perfectly fall-flavored Gluten Free Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies a try. Your family is sure to feel the love with this easy to share recipe.
I’m sitting here typing away this recipe for cookies while I hear hooting and hollering coming from the TV in the background. Ben is watching the presidential elections and I guess Donald Trump has just been awarded the victory.
Oh boy.
Oh boy indeed.
Not that I particularly liked any candidate this presidential race, but REALLY???
Anyway, I can’t complain because quite frankly I don’t ever follow politics. I really do wish I was more involved with the decision making of policies in our country, but I’m just not. I find that I just don’t care.
Okay, not true. I do care. I care because many people have lost their lives, privileges, families, etc. over ensuring that America is a great place to live. I do not discredit that or mock their sacrifices. I only wish I were as patriotic as them. I guess I just feel like a teeny tiny fish in a massive ocean of people who’s opinion will really never get heard, so I pretty much stay quiet.
Also, politics make me feel dumb. Anybody else feel that way??? Please tell me you do!
Seriously, when I was voting today, half of the policy changes that I was voting on I could hardly understand. Sometimes I trick myself into thinking that if I read something slow enough, I will eventually understand it. That is SO NOT the case. Reading slowly just prolongs the total amount of time that I feel utterly lost and completely stupid. I’d like to think that I am an educated person, but apparently not.
Between feeling invisible and unintelligent, I don’t find myself favoring politics in the least bit. So instead of trying to make a change in our beloved country, I waste my time away baking. I’ll change the world with food!!!
Haha! I mean, people can’t be mad and argue over a plate of good food, right?! If we all just had yummy food to share, everybody would get along. There would be world peace. I am quite certain of this.
Okay, maybe not. I am not that naive, but a batch of cookies has been known to mend hurt feelings. This I am sure of.
And since it’s fall…still…baking a batch of these Gluten Free Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies must be on your to-do list. And please do it before pumpkin pies take over all of social media. We all know we are going to be rolling out of Thanksgiving supper with our bellies full of what we claim to be the “best pumpkin pie ever” and then we never want to see pumpkin for a whole ‘nother year.
So, again I say, make these sooner rather than later. You won’t be sorry.
If you have followed my blog, you may remember that I am NOT a cakey cookie fan. Occasionally I enjoy those whoopie pie type cookies with yummy frosting sandwiched in between, but in general, I am not the least bit tempted by a cakey cookie.
I’m a CHEWY girl. No, not in any kind of reference to Star Wars. The only thing good that has come of Star Wars is that freaking hilarious viral video of the grown woman that bought herself a Chewbacca mask that makes noise when you talk into it. Seriously, if you haven’t seen the video, it is so funny.
Anyway, I am getting way distracted here. Back to chewy cookies. I love pumpkin flavored foods. In fact, I ended up with a box of pumpkin spice LIFE cereal from the grocery store today. I just had to try it. I’m thinking mixed with my favorite shredded wheat cereal, it would make for a delicious breakfast…I hope.
I love pumpkin cake, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin granola, pumpkin bread, you name it. Um, I am also currently obsessed with pumpkin candles. No, I do not eat pumpkin candles. That would just be gross and ridiculous. But the constant aroma of pumpkin in my house??? LOVE!
Now with all that pumpkin love I’ve got going on, you would assume that I enjoy pumpkin cookies. Well, I don’t. I do NOT love pumpkin cookies because they are always soft and cakey. Not my jam.
Until now.
I made these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and they are CHEWY. Real live, honest to goodness CHEWY!!! And I am in love.
I think the secret is using mostly white sugar instead of brown, since brown sugar absorbs moisture from the air after baking. Also, using only 1 egg in the recipe keeps these babies chewy. And last of all, using minimal pumpkin puree. You only need 1/2 cup total. The rest of the pumpkin flavor is going to come from the pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon. I’m telling you, it’s just enough pumpkin flavor to make those fall taste buds happy.
Happy…
Hmmm…
I wonder just how many people are happy at this very moment in time. Elections are always a touchy subject. Well, whether you are happy or not, these cookies will enhance that mood. Celebrate the next four years with a batch of these cookies or wallow in your disbelief with a batch of these cookies. Either way, make a batch of these cookies.
Are you a cakey cookie fan?
- 1½ sticks butter (12 tablespoons), room temperature
- 1 large egg
- 1½ cups organic cane sugar
- ⅓ cup brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup 100% pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons brown rice flour
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons white rice flour
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons sweet sorghum flour
- ½ cup potato starch
- ¼ cup tapioca flour
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus more for pressing on top
- In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, cream together butter, egg, cane sugar, brown sugar, and pumpkin puree until creamy, scraping down the sides as needed. Add vanilla and mix until incorporated.
- In a separate smaller mixing bowl, sift together salt, xanthan gum, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, brown rice flour, white rice flour, sorghum flour, potato starch, and tapioca flour.
- Pour dry ingredients into wet mixture and mix on medium until combined, scraping down the sides as needed. Beat for an additional minute.
- Fold in 1 cup chocolate chips with spatula or wooden spoon. Cover and chill for 1 hour.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper or a silpat mat. Place walnut sized scoops of cookie dough 2" apart and top with 5-6 additional chocolate chips. Gently press into dough.
- Bake cookies at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes until edges are set. Remove from oven and allow to cool on baking pans until firm. Continue cooling on cooling racks.
- Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, in fridge for up to 1 week, or in freezer for up to 3 months.
