Giant Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

   Because it's October, I must post a pumpkin recipe. It's only appropriate. I feel slightly sorry for people who don't care much for pumpkin; one, because it's everywhere right now: in coffee, cakes, muffins, soup, waffles, breads; and two, because they're missing out on something so good. I love anything pumpkin, the way the smell and taste instantly recover memories of cool fall days past. It's a happy flavor to me. This particular pumpkin recipe has been blogged all over the place and for good reason. These cookies are seriously perfect: cakey, pumpkiny, soft, moist, chocolatey, and impossibly hard to resist. I could easily have 4 at once…and they're big. I made this batch a couple weeks back for a then-pregnant friend (who now has this dear one) who went nuts over them and requested the recipe. So, here it is! A hearty thanks to Joy the Baker for sharing these gems. 

Giant Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

adapted slightly from Joy the Baker's version

yields almost a dozen big cookies

ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 heaping teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

~ 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg*

~ 1/8 teaspoon cloves*

2 eggs, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup canola oil

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup chocolate chips (semi sweet, dark, white. your choice.)

*I toned the spices down a little bit as I'd rather them be less prominent when I have chocolate chips involved. Joy's recipe calls for 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon cloves. Adjust as you like.

directions:

1. Preheat to 325F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Butter the paper.

2. Stir flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices in medium bowl and set aside. 

3. In large bowl, beat eggs and sugar on medium speed until light in color and smooth (~1 minute), scraping sides of bowl as you go. 

4. On low speed, add in the oil, pumpkin, and vanilla until combined. 

5. Mix in flour mixture until just incorporated. Don't over mix! Stir in chips. 

6. Using 1/4 cup measure or 1/4 cup ice cream scoop, drop dough in mounds on prepared sheets, leaving 2 1/2-inches between cookies. Pat dough down with metal spatula to smooth and flatten it. 

7. Bake for about 15-16 minutes, or until tops of cookies feel slightly firm and a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool on sheet for 5 minutes, then use large metal spatula to transfer and cool on metal rack completely. 

8. Dust cooled cookies with powdered sugar.