Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies from ‘Guittard Chocolate Cookbook’
This recipe comes from The Guittard Chocolate Cookbook: Decadent Recipes from San Francisco’s Premium Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Company by Amy Guittard (Chronicle Books). Guittard is the great-great-granddaughter of the founder of the Guittard Chocolate Company and the company’s marketing director.
Photograph by Antonis Achilleos
by Amy Guittard
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 45 (2-inch) cookies
This recipe stands up well to improvisation. I was first inspired by a recipe made by a high school friend, but I have adjusted it numerous times, depending on the occasion and how I was feeling each time I set out to make them. For a 2004 article in the San Jose Mercury News, I revised the recipe to include white chocolate chips and oats. Another time, in a fit of delirium, I accidentally made the recipe with buckwheat flour instead of whole-wheat flour, which ended up adding a pleasing extra-hearty flavor. After so many variations over the years, the recipe that appears here has received the stamp of approval from my family. The pumpkin gives these cookies a light and fluffy crumb, like the texture of a muffin. A dash of cinnamon and nutmeg imparts a festive flavor. If you’re one of those bakers who likes extra spice, this is a good recipe for you. Just make sure you add a little spice at a time and taste the batter as you go.
1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour
1 1⁄4 cups (150 g) whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 tablespoons (55 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
¾ cup (150 g) firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups (430 g) pumpkin purée
2 cups (340 g) Guittard Semisweet Chocolate Baking Chips
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
In a large bowl, with a hand mixer, beat together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and smooth, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the pumpkin purée until combined. Gradually stir in the flour mixture until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. Drop the dough by rounded teaspoons-ful onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving 1 inch (2.5 cm) between the cookies.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies are firm and spring back when touched. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Reprinted with permission from The Guittard Chocolate Cookbook: Decadent Recipes from San Francisco’s Premium Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Company by Amy Guittard (Chronicle Books).
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