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Pumpkin pie spice is a spice blend made with cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg. They’re the primary flavoring agents use in pumpkin pie – hence the name – but the spice combination is so delicious that the blend comes prepackaged so that you can easily add it to just about any baked good you might want to infuse a little fall flavor into. These Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Cookies are a variation on classic chocolate chip cookies that are spiced up for fall. The cookies are made with brown sugar and plenty of pumpkin pie spice, giving them a nice balance of the same flavors that you find in pumpkin pie – but in a buttery, chocolate chip cookie format!
I added a very generous amount of pumpkin pie spice to the cookie dough. If you don’t have any on hand, you can make your own by combining two parts each of cinnamon and ginger with one part each of ground cloves and nutmeg. Different brands balance the spices differently, but cinnamon is usually the standout spice in this mix. After adding in all that spice, I felt like the cookies needed a little bit of extra sweetness to make them stand out, so I added in a cup of white chocolate chips in place of some of the semisweet chocolate chips. The white chocolate chips – try to use a high quality chip, made with real cocoa butter and not just vegetable oils – make the cookies taste a little bit better balanced and help the other flavors to pop, but don’t make the cookies overly sweet. The cookies also include diced pecans for a little bit of crunch – and because pecans go so well with pumpkin pie spice.
The cookies are slightly chewy and have a nice crisp edge when they come out of the oven. Since they have more brown sugar than white sugar, they retain some of that chewiness even a day or two after baking, provided that they are stored in an airtight container to keep them fresh. If you want to adjust the size of the cookies to make them larger or smaller, don’t forget to adjust the baking time accordingly. The cookies should be lightly browned around the edges and set in the center when they are ready to come out of the oven.
Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup rolled oats (regular or quick-cooking)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 cup semisweet/dark chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup diced, toasted pecans
Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, rolled oats, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars until light and creamy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, followed by vanilla extract and pumpkin pie spice. With the mixer on a low speed, gradually blend in the flour mixture, then fold in the chocolate chips, white chocolate chips and pecans until they are well-incorporated.
Shape cookies into generous 1-inch balls and arrange on prepared baking sheet, leaving 2-inches between cookies to allow for spread.
Bake for 9-11 minutes, until cookies are golden brown around the edges. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes, then trasnfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Makes about 3 dozen.
What do you think?