Try these Hokkaido pumpkin chocolate chip cookies this fall. They are tender, packed with warm spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, some hazelnuts and lots of chocolate chips. They are enriched with pumpkin puree and grated pumpkin, as well.
Autumn and winter days are perfect for baking. And cookies are almost a must. They are easy and fun, and the choice of combinations is simply enormous. You can choose from crispy, soft, fudgy, chewy or filled cookies and combine them with your favourite toppings, filling and spices. Amazing.
Check out these cookie recipes for more inspirations: a classic Italian cantuccini, delicious and rich chocolate crinkle cookies, festive sugar cookies or these gorgeous pinwheels. Which one would you pick?
These cookies, as the name already says, are made with Hokkaido pumpkin. Moreover, I used the pumpkin in two ways. Firstly, I made a puree and secondly, I used some grated raw pumpkin as well. I wanted to add some texture and colour to the cookies.
Additionally, in order to get tender but not fudgy cookies, I suggest removing as much water as possible from the pumpkin puree. There are two easy ways to do that. First, place the puree in a cheesecloth and squeeze it. Second, that’s what I used, after pureeing the pumpkin, return it back to the pan and cook until all of the water evaporates.
Also, the creamy pumpkin brings, just like the egg, moisture to the dough. The cookies will be extremely tender and fluffy. Therefore, I only used one egg in this recipe. Well, to be exact, I used one egg yolk.
Besides pumpkin, they are rich in spices. I used warm spices, such as cinnamon, fresh ginger, cloves and nutmeg. Feel free to swap these spices with pumpkin spice, if you wish. To achieve even more flavour, I used fresh ginger. All of these spices go great together and they pair well with pumpkin and chocolate. A perfect combination.
Now, chocolate is an ingredient that should not be omitted. Oh, the mighty chocolate. Love it! The chocolate chips are definitely one of the highlights of these cookies. That melty, rich dark chocolate is absolutely delicious.
These Hokkaido pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are great to store. After they are fully cooled, store them in an airtight container for up to 6 days. Well, they say so. They didn’t last that long in our house. Wink.
Ingredients for about 15 Hokkaido pumpkin chocolate chip cookies:
- 120 g pumpkin puree (Hokkaido)
- 50 g grated raw pumpkin
- 80 g butter (room temperature)
- 30 g coconut oil
- 80 g sugar
- 8 g vanilla sugar
- 20 ml Maple syrup
- 1 egg yolk
- 160 g flour
- 50 g ground hazelnuts
- 1 tsp of fresh grated ginger
- 2 g of cinnamon
- 0,25 tsp nutmeg
- 0,25 tsp cloves (powder)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- pinch of salt
- 100 g chocolate chips (keep 20 g on a side)
To begin, wash, cut and cook the pumpkin. Drain it and, using an immersion blender, blend until smooth. Transfer the pumpkin puree back to the pan and cook until most of the excess water evaporates. In the meantime, grate the pumpkin and keep it aside.
Then, in a medium bowl, combine butter, vanilla sugar and sugar and mix until white and fluffy. Mix in the syrup and at the end add the egg yolk. Once well mixed, add the pumpkin puree and the grated pumpkin as well. Stir to combine.
At this point stir in the flour, ground hazelnuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, a pinch of salt and baking soda. Mix until all of the flour is well incorporated. Last but not least, stir in the chocolate chips and pop the bowl into the fridge for 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180° C and line a baking sheet with baking paper. Take the cookie dough out of the fridge and spoon it into balls. Roll the balls with your hands, place them on the baking sheet and flat them down so that they are 1-1.5 cm thick. Press a few extra chocolate chips on top of each cookie.
Then, place the cookies into the oven and bake for 14-17 minutes until the tops are set. After the cookies are baked, let them cool on the baking sheet first (5-10 min) and then transfer them onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Finally, serve the Hokkaido pumpkin chocolate chip cookies with a cup of coffee, flat-white or a pumpkin spice-late.
Enjoy.
