It’s the first day of Fall. I will NOW allow there to be pumpkin treats (I hate wishing summer away!!). These cookies were a quick experiment last week and I really like them.
If you like soft, almost cake-like cookies, you will really like these. They are soft and smooth like muffins but have a thick texture. The best part – I think they are really easy!
Why the caramel? It just sounded good. I was thinking of Fall flavors and while it tastes great on apples, I like it with pumpkin too.
What you need: an electric mixer, spatula, mixing bowl, 2 large cookie sheets, and parchment paper
Time: 30 minutes + 15 in the oven
Makes: 12 cookies
Ingredients for the cookies:
- 2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup cup of semisweet chocolate chips (I used Nestle Toll House)
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli)
- 1 standard can of pumpkin
Ingredients for the caramel:
- 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
- 5 tablespoons of salted butter
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- A big pinch of salt
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line your baking sheets with parchment.
In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until combined, about one minute. Add the eggs, vanilla, and pumpkin and beat until combined and creamy, about 20 seconds. Then add the flour and baking soda, and beat once more until combined. Stir in the the chocolate chips with a spatula gently – do not overmix.
Using an ice cream scoop (if you have one), roll the dough into large balls and place at least 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. If you do not have an ice cream scoop, just use a big spoon and make the cookies a bit thicker than golf balls but NOT tennis ball size. I could only fit about 4-5 cookies per pan.
Transfer cookies to the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the cookies just begin to set on the edges, but still doughy in the center. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool. NOTE: I baked each sheet individually in the oven.
Meanwhile, in a saucepan over medium heat, melt the granulated sugar for the caramel until sticky and dissolved – about 2-3 minutes. Carefully add the butter – it will bubble a lot! After about two minutes, add the cream carefully as well, stirring the entire time. Once all incorporated, it should be a nice and runny, golden liquid. Remove from the heat and add a pinch of salt. Let cool completely and watch it thicken!
Lastly, take a fork and drizzle the caramel on top of the cookies. Make sure to use fast back and forth motions to get “streaks” instead of globs. Then, eat!!
