Bready or Not: Pumpkin Spice Chip Cookies
When life gives you a good sale on seasonal pumpkin spice chips, you create your own recipe in which to use those chips.
At least, that’s what I do, because my mind is weird like that.
Tollhouse Pumpkin Spice Chips are mildly spicy and smooth. They work really well with this ultra-smooth dough, that includes melted white chocolate mixed right in. I borrowed that foundation of the recipe from my White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookie recipe.
These cookies gain enough crisp to be solid, but they are still chewy. The chopped pecans (or whatever nut you want to throw in) add nice flavor, but more than that, they add texture. They cut the sweetness some.
If you see these special chips on sale at Target or elsewhere, grab’em! You now have the perfect recipe to use them in.
Bready or Not: Pumpkin Spice Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 2/3 cup white sugar
- 11 Tablespoons unsalted butter , room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 bag pumpkin spice chips
- 1 cup pecans chopped, or walnuts or other nuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325-degrees. Place 1 cup of white chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on 50% power in short increments, 20-30 seconds, and stop to stir between passes until the chips blend smoothly. Be careful--white chocolate can burn fast! Set aside to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the sugar, butter, vanilla, and eggs until they're creamy. Mix in the melted chips. Stir in flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Add the pumpkin spice chips and the pecans.
- Use a cookie scoop or tablespoon to place dough in rounded lumps on cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges begin to turn very light golden brown. Cool on the sheet for several minutes, then move to a rack to cool.
- ON NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Guest Sherrida Pope with Peanut Butter Nutella Cookies
I’m happy to welcome author Sherrida Pope (who I know better as Nancy Fulda) to Bready or Not today! She has two darling new children’s books out, one for Halloween and one for Thanksgiving. Owls and cats, you can’t go wrong with that. Other things that can’t go wrong: anything combined with Nutella. Sherrida has a recipe for Peanut Butter Nutella Cookies that look absolutely delicious!
The Cat who Ruined Thanksgiving
I still remember the first time I tasted Nutella. It was during December in the 1980’s, surrounded by holiday trappings and a box of intriguing food items my sister had brought back from Germany. What was this strange substance, this… spreadable chocolate?
It was love at first bite. But you couldn’t find Nutella in California stores back then, or at least, we couldn’t, and so my newfound affinity had to wait on the back shelf until my own trip to Germany nearly a decade later. Happily, globalization has since rectified many of the gaps on my store shelves, and I’m pleased to report that I can now find Nutella in nearly every major supermarket in my area.
I hope you can, too, because the only thing better than Nutella is Nutella combined with something superbly delectable. Think about it: Nutella is yummy. Peanut butter is yummy. Both together is… well, around my house it’s a recipe for an empty plate and a lot of cookie crumbs.
Peanut Butter Nutella Cookies
½ cup margarine or butter
½ cup peanut butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
½ tsp baking powder
Beat margarine and peanut butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add ½ cup of the flour, sugar, egg, and baking powder. Beat until thoroughly combined. Add remaining flour.
Form dough into 1-inch balls. (If dough is too sticky to shape easily, then add extra flour or refrigerate for 15-20 minutes.) If desired, use a spoon to create a small depression in the center of each cookie.
Bake at 375° for 7-9 minutes. Spread Nutella across the top of warm cookies.
Sherrida Pope, who also publishes as Nancy Fulda, lives and writes in the scenic area near Utah Lake. She has three children, a pet hedgehog, and a transient appreciation for classical music. Find her engaging chapter books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online retailers.
The Cat who Ruined Thanksgiving
Read MoreBready or Not: Healthy Butternut Squash Soup
This wonderful soup has been one of my cool weather dinner staples for several years!
I love, love this soup. It takes a little bit of prep work but then feeds me for a few days. It’s both delicious and healthy. Butternut squash is one of my favorite roast vegetables, and this just blends it into liquid form.
Butternut squash can be intimidating to slice up. I recommend the technique shown at The Kitchn. Basically, you slice off the ends, then take off the rind, de-seed, then dice the orange flesh.
This recipe freezes really well, too. I like to measure it in 2-cup increments and seal it up in quart-size freezer bags; I can freeze them flat so they take up almost no room.
The soup’s flavor improves after being in the fridge for a day, too. The roasted vegetables really come through. I like to add spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, or pumpkin spice mix, and a few pepitas for texture.
It’s a bowl of stomach-warming happiness.
Modified from Lick My Spoon.
Bready or Not: Healthy Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
- 2 - 3 pound butternut squash
- 1 yellow onion
- 32 ounce chicken broth or vegetable broth, 1 box or 2 cans
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- salt Hawaiian salt recommended
- nutmeg or cinnamon, or pumpkin spice mix, to taste
- pepitas or chopped pecans, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450-degrees. Prepare a large rimmed baking sheet by lining it with foil.
- Peel, de-seed, and dice the squash into roughly 1-inch cubes. It doesn't need to be neat--they will all be blended in the end. Peel and dice up the onion.
- Place the squash and onion on the baking sheet. Drizzle or spray olive oil over everything. Add salt and other spices like cinnamon or nutmeg and toss to coat.
- Roast in oven for about 25 minutes. Turn over the squash, then cook another 15-25 minutes, until the squash is just browning and is fork-tender.
- If you want to complete the soup later, just stick the squash in the fridge. Or continue...
- In a large pot, bring the broth to a simmer. Add the roasted squash and onion. Carefully puree using an immersion blender, or blend in small batches in a blender or food processor. Use caution: you’re working with hot liquid! Process until the soup is smooth, and bring to a simmer again.
- Serve in bowls with an additional sprinkling of spices and perhaps some pepitas or chopped pecans on top! Leftovers keep sealed in fridge upward of a week; the taste actually improves after being in the fridge for a day. It can also be frozen in freezer bags or plastic dishes. Reheats quickly in the microwave or on the stove.
- OM NOM NOM!
Read More
Bready or Not: Pumpkin Maple Cookies
These cookies epitomize the season of fall in a single cookie.
First you taste pumpkin and the cinnamon, ginger, and cloves, then that is followed by the mellow sweetness of maple. The texture is chewy and perfect.
I found the original of this recipe at Two Peas and Their Pod and thought, “Hey, you know what this recipe needs for some extra oomph? MAPLE.”
The flavors play so well together. Add that to the chewy texture and the lovely light orange tint of pumpkin, and you have the perfect goodies to accompany a hot drink on a brisk autumn night.
Do note that this cookie dough is very sticky and goopy. It needs to chill in the fridge so that it can be shaped and rolled in sugar. So plan ahead for this one: make the dough, then bake everything hours or a day later.
Adapted from Pumpkin Gingersnap Cookies at Two Peas and Their Pod.
Bready or Not: Pumpkin Maple Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 stick, room temperature
- 1 cup white sugar plus more for rolling the cookies
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon maple flavor
- 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until creamy and smooth. Add the pumpkin, molasses, egg, vanilla extract, and maple flavor.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining dry ingredients. Add them to the batter until just combined. Refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.
- When it's time to bake, preheat the oven at 350-degrees. Use greased stoneware or line a baking sheet with silicone mats or parchment. Place white sugar in a small bowl. Use a scoop to drop balls of dough in the sugar. Roll them around and then place on baking sheet. (Note: the dough is very sticky and goopy. It needs to be chilled to be workable, so be sure to place it back in the fridge between batches.)
- Bake for 9-11 minutes for teaspoon sized dough, or 10–12 minutes for tablespoon-sized. The cookies should look crackled and set, but still soft. Let them cool on the baking sheet for ten minutes before moving to a rack.
- OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Cocoa Cookies
In the mood for chocolate? Here you go. These cookies are like mini brownies packed with cocoa and chocolate chips!
I used Nestle Tollhouse chips in Halloween colors to really set off the lovely dark dough. It helps to show how much chocolate is loaded in these babies, too.
There is nothing healthy about these. Nothing. You have butter, sugar, cocoa, and loads of chocolate chips. It’s the first week of October and I have already sabotaged all your healthy eating plans for the season.
Sorry/not sorry.
This is modified from Chocolate Drop Cookies at King Arthur Flour.
Bready or Not: Cocoa Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 stick
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/3 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/3 cup Dutch-process cocoa sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons milk or almond milk
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder optional; for depth of flavor
- 2 cups chocolate chips 1 bag
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375. Lightly grease a baking sheet or line with parchment.
- Beat together the butter, sugars, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and vanilla extract until well blended. Scrape sides of bowl.
- Add the egg and milk, beating until smooth, then the flour and espresso powder (if using). Add the chocolate chips last.
- Use a teaspoon scoop to set dollops of dough on the cookie sheet. Don't set them too close together.
- Bake cookies for 9 to 11 minutes, until they've lost their sheen. Cool on pan for a few minutes and then move to rack.
- OM NOM NOM!
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Bready or Not: Pumpkin Praline Cake
If you love quick and easy dump cakes, let me introduce you to one that is full of pumpkin goodness.
Last year I went through a stack of old issues of Betty Crocker magazine. I sliced out recipes that looked promising. This was one of them.
I was amazed at how easy this recipe was. It literally came together in the time it took for the oven to preheat. The flavors and texture are amazing: you have a cakey base topped with spicy pumpkin custard, with a nutty-crunchy layer atop.
Plus, you can cover it with plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge for days! It tastes even better after a day or two. The spices meld with everything.
My husband took this cake to work. He returned with an empty dish. The guys raved about it.
If you like pumpkin, if you like cake, this is the way to start your fall off right.
Bready or Not: Pumpkin Praline Cake
Ingredients
- 15 oz pumpkin puree
- 12 oz evaporated milk
- 3 eggs room temperature
- 1 cup white sugar
- 4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice heaping
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 1 1/2 cups pecans or walnuts, chopped
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter or margarine, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Prepare a 13x9-inch pan by lining with foil or parchment and then greasing it well with Pam or butter.
- In a large bowl, beat together the pumpkin puree, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, and pumpkin pie spice. It should be smooth. Pour it into the pan.
- Sprinkle the dry cake mix over the pumpkin goop. Sprinkle the nuts all over the top. Pour the melted butter evenly over everything.
- Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a knife in the center comes out clean. Let cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate. Cut and serve from the pan; warm slices in the microwave, if desired, or eat cold.
- OM NOM NOM!
