Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

My official job title in Spain is a Language and Culture Assistant or auxiliar de conversación. I have the best job in the world; earning a living experiencing the Spanish languages and culture. It sounds almost too good to be true, but this is a real job that you can learn more about here. In return for this amazing opportunity, I am expected to share my language and culture with the students and teachers at my school, facilitating an international exchange of ideas. However, thanks to globalization, most aspects of the American culture have already made it overseas. There are few things I share about my home that most Spaniards I meet aren't vaguely familiar with already. This is not the case for food. I'm sad to report that the general opinion of American food is based on McDonald's and KFC menus. I'm not going to launch an anit-fast food campaign over here because it is a big part of American culture and I'd be committing an enormous act of hypocrisy. I think McDonald's french fries are one of the most addicting foods on the planet and Taco Bell Crunchwraps are a work of culinary genius.  

I mentioned in my homemade pumpkin puree post that I take classic American baked goods to school to share with my coworkers and students. This is my way of showing them that we have SO much more to offer than hamburgers and delivery pizzas. It should come as no surprise that my favorite way to experience a foreign culture is through its cuisine, but I get so much more pleasure from telling people about my home through the foods I grew up with and love. With these cookies, I was able to share the traditions of autumn in America, from the holidays, to the pumpkin patches, corn mazes, and hot apple cider! I'm well aware that fall has come and gone, but who doesn't want a cakey, moist reminder of falling leaves and crisp air during the months of dreary, cold winter weather?

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a sheet pan with a Silpat or parchment paper. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars. Add the egg, vanilla, and pumpkin and beat until combined. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Slowly mix into the cookie batter until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Using a cookie scoop or teaspoon, drop the cookies onto the prepared cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes until puffed up and lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!

 

 
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients: 
   
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat in the pumpkin puree and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. With the stand mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Drop the batter onto a Silpat lined cookie sheet using a cookie scoop or a tablespoon. Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes depending on the size of your cookies.

Lime Glazed Coconut Cookies

My mom is an amazing cook. She can bake anything, cook anything, and usually get it done without glancing at a recipe. When I try a new recipe and make a horrible mess of it, she can always swoop into the kitchen and rescue my ruined dish. Growing up, she made dinner every night and baked goodies on the weekend for us to snack on throughout the week. Because of all this culinary pampering during my youth, I am a bit of a food snob! I know every kid blames their parents for their problems, but this is definitely all her fault. And I love her for it:)

When it comes to cookies, my food snobbery prevents me from getting excited about these sweet treats if they're from a bag, box, wrapper, or from premade cookie dough. I love homemade cookies because that's what I grew up with. I think they taste a zillion times better than those bought from the store. Note: Oreos and Girl Scout Cookies are an exception here! There's just no improving on those cookies. Furthermore, I love the process of baking cookies from scratch. It's relaxing and fun for me and I especially love giving cookies I made to my friends and neighbors....and saving a few for myself!

These cookies remind me of Mother's Iced Oatmeal Cookies with a tropical twist. A bit of a stretch you say? Here's a visual aid...

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These are a fresh twist on a classic cookie and 100% homemade. Let these cookies transport you to the tropics!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Farenheit and line a cookie sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper.

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and extracts.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

With the mixer on low speed, add dry ingredients to the creamed butter and sugar mixture. Mix until just combined. Add coconut and oats on low speed, mixing until the dough just comes together. Give the bowl a good scrape with a rubber spatula.

Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and evenly space onto your prepared cookie sheet. Chill excess dough between batches.

The cookies will flatten considerably while they bake.

Bake for 10 minutes until browned. Let cool 2 minutes on the hot cookie sheet before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely. Repeat the rolling, baking process until all the cookies are baked and cooling.

While the cookies cool, prepare the lime glaze.

Zest and juice about 3 limes.

Whisk the lime zest, juice, and powdered sugar in a medium mixing bowl until smooth.

There you go! Easy glaze. 

When the cookies are completely cool, set them on top of the glaze face-down. You may need to gently press the cookie into the glaze to evenly coat top side of the cookie.

Return cookies to the cooling rack until the glaze sets, about 5 minutes.

Enjoy! Put the lime in the coconut cookie and eat them all up!

Lime-Glazed Coconut Cookies yields about 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

Coconut Cookies: 
  
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar 
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp coconut extract
1 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup oats
1 cup shredded coconut

Lime Glaze

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
5 Tbsp lime juice
3 tsp grated lime zest

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Line a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper.

In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars on high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Beat in the egg until smooth, scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, and beat in the extracts.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the stand mixer on low speed, incorporate the flour mixture, being careful not to overmix. Scrape the sides of the mixing bowl. Turn the stand mixer on to low speed again and add the oats and coconut until just combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl with a rubber spatula.

Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place onto the lined baking sheet. (12-15 balls of dough will fit nicely onto one pan.) Bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool for 2 minutes on hot pan, then place cookies onto a wire rack to cool completely.

When the cookies are cooled completely, prepare the lime glaze. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk powdered sugar, lime juice, and lime zest until smooth. Dip the cookies into the glaze face-down to evenly coat the tops of the cookies. Return the cookies back to the wire cooling rack to allow the glaze to set.