Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I was looking for some fall comfort food when my brother came to visit a couple of weeks ago.  I stumbled across this recipe on Pinterest and decided to give it a go, with a couple of twists.  The result was the best pumpkin chocolate chip cookies I've ever had! There are a lot of ingredients, but it is so worth it.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
(slightly adapted from Bow Peep Creations)
1 t. baking soda
1 t. milk
1 c. pumpkin puree
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. oil
1 egg
2 c. flour
2 t. baking powder
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 t. salt
1 c. chocolate chips
1/2 t. vanilla extract
1/2 t. almond extract

Dissolve baking soda into milk; set aside.  Combine pumpkin, sugar, oil, and egg until well combined.  Add flour, baking powder, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and baking soda mixture.  Stir well, then add chocolate chips, vanilla, and almond extract.

Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.  Enjoy!

Mann-tastic Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is easily the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I have ever tried.  It is a family and friend favorite.  I originally got the recipe from my mother-in-law.  She gave it to me at my bridal shower, since these are my husband's favorite cookies.  The recipe I have is actually titled "Mrs. Field's Cookies", but I have tweaked them a little bit, so I figured I could give them a new name.  Since our last name is Mann, and these cookies are so fantastic, they ended up as Mann-tastic Chocolate Chip Cookies.


Mann-tastic Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 1/2 c. butter (3 sticks)
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 c. brown sugar
3 eggs
2 T. vanilla
6 c. flour
1 1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 t. baking soda
3 c. chocolate chips variety

The directions are pretty much just like any other cookie recipe.  Cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, then add eggs and vanilla.  Add dry ingredient mixture. (Although I usually just throw them all in the mixer at once, since they seem to mix together on top a little bit before getting mixed into the rest of the dough.)  At this point, there is too much dough in my mixer to add the chocolate chips, so I transfer the dough to a bigger bowl and mix in the chips with a wooden spoon or spatula.  I like to do half semi-sweet chocolate chips and half of another kind of chip, usually white chocolate or peanut butter.  I have been known to add all three from time to time as well.  This is what your dough should look like:

Oooooh yeah.  Did I mention that this recipe makes a huge batch of cookies?  At this point, I use my cookie scoop to put the dough out on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

  When you pull these out of the oven, they may not look completely done, but they will continue to cook as they cool.  You can transfer them to a cooling rack about five minutes after they come out of the oven.  You won't need to worry about storing these for very long, since they will all be gone in a matter of days, but they do freeze well and will keep in an airtight container on the counter for a week.

I have tried halving this recipe, but the results are never as good.  Since this makes such a large batch, I usually freeze half (or more) of the dough.  The best way I have found is to make cookie dough balls with the cookie scoop and freeze them already portioned out.  That way, you can pop a few in the oven (up the cooking time to 14 minutes if they are still frozen) and have fresh cookies in just a few minutes.  Or, if you are my husband, you can eat the frozen cookie dough balls straight out of the freezer.  Either way.

Linked up: Tatertots & Jello

Chocolate Andes Mint Cookies

This recipe is perfect for St. Patrick's Day.  The recipe is fairly common; I have found similar ones on a bunch of different websites.  This version is a little bit different, though, because you get to use the microwave instead of the stove top, and I've adapted some of the instructions.

Chocolate Andes Mint Cookies
3/4 c. butter (I really think you could get away with 1/2 c., but I haven't tried it yet)
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
2 T. water
2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 eggs
2 1/2 c. flour
1 1/4 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
30-36 Andes mints (depending on the size of the cookies), unwrapped and snapped in half

Combine butter, brown sugar, water, and chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl.  Microwave for one minute, then stir.  Keep heating in thirty-second intervals and stirring until everything is melted and well-combined.  Some recipes say to let it sit for ten minutes at this point, but I did not.  Whisk in the eggs.  Add the flour, baking soda, and salt.

Stir everything together, then cover and refrigerate for at least one hour.  If you leave it in the fridge overnight, your baking time will be a little bit longer, but other than that it's about the same.

After the dough is refrigerated, either roll into balls or use a cookie scoop and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake at 325 degrees for 10-12 minutes, or 12-14 if dough has been refrigerated overnight.  As soon as you remove the cookies from the oven, place a mint piece on top of each cookie and let it melt.

At this point, you can either leave the mints like that, let them cool, and be on your merry way.

Or. . . you can swirl the mints around with a toothpick (hold it sideways like a knife instead of up like a pencil) and get a marbled effect with the different colors of the mint.  I tried to draw shamrocks, which I thought would have been an awesome St. Patty's Day touch, but it didn't work at all.  The chocolate on top is too thick to let the green show through.

Enjoy!  Let these cookies cool completely before storing.

 Linked up:

Scotcharoos Popcorn

Scotcharoos Popcorn

(adapted from this recipe for peanut butter cup popcorn)

22 cups of popped popcorn

1 bag butterscotch chips

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 tbsp. vegetable shortening or oil

1/2 c. toffee bits

2/3 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips (for drizzling)

Pop the popcorn and put in a large bowl.  In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the butterscotch chips, one cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips, and vegetable oil or shortening and heat for 2-2 1/2 minutes or until smooth, stirring every 30 seconds.  Pour the melted chip mixture over the popcorn and toss to combine.

Spread the popcorn onto two wax paper-lined baking sheets.  Sprinkle the toffee bits over the popcorn evenly.  In a Ziploc bag, heat the semi-sweet chocolate chips until just melted and smooth (about a minute in the microwave, mashing the bag every 20-30 seconds). Cut a small corner in the Ziploc bag and drizzle the chocolate over the popcorn. Allow to stand long enough to become solid (you can transfer the pan to the fridge or freezer to hurry this step along). When done, break the popcorn into small pieces and enjoy!  

TIP: Store this popcorn in the fridge if it doesn't set up all the way.  Some chocolate chips are softer at room temperature than others.