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.

Pumpkin Puree

Spanish food is very bland. I love it, but there is little flavor variation as Spaniards pride themselves on using very few spices in their cooking. I don't mind the simplicity in the savory dishes, but I have to report that Spanish baked goods are boring. Spaniards eat cakes with less flavor than a store-bought Sara Lee pound cake and exclaim "¡Què rico!" In an effort to convert some Spaniards to the worshiping of desserts with flavor, I've been baking some old-fashioned favorites and taking them to school for my colleagues. I have kept the flavors simple so as not to shock their palates; coffee cake, homemade pound cake, and most recently pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. So far, my attempts of exposing the teachers at my school to flavorful desserts has been a success. In exchange, they’ve persuaded me to open my stomach to stingray, octopus tentacles, and even tripe!

To make the pumpkin cookies, I had to make my own pumpkin puree. America is the land of good and plenty of canned pumpkin. In Spain, you cannot simply go to the grocery store to buy canned pumpkin. Even in October and November, when American supermarkets are bursting with this and other flavorful squash varieties, both canned and fresh pumpkins are absent from Spanish grocery store shelves. If you ask for a pumpkin, you'll likely be pointed in the direction of a butternut squash. (Delicious, great for making soup, but not a pumpkin.) In late October, I finally found a small sugar pumpkin at a fruit stand and when I informed the shopkeeper I planned to bake it and make it into a pie rather than carve it into a jack-o-lantern, she gave me the "Oh, you're foreign," look I've become very accustomed to. I had some leftover puree that’s been patiently waiting in my freezer, until now.  

To make your own puree, plan on an hour inactive prep time while the pumpkin bakes and no more than 30 minutes of blending and straining the puree.Straining is a very important step, especially if using to make a pumpkin pie. Baked pumpkin has a stringy texture and straining ensures a smooth final product.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with tin foil. Cut your pumpkin in half and scrape out the pulp and the seeds. Place the two halves skin side up on the baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes to an hour until the flesh is very tender. Remove from the oven and let cool.

 

 

Scrape the cooled pumpkin flesh out of the skin. In a blender or with an immersion blender, puree the flesh until smooth. If you're not up to dirtying more kitchen equipment, mashing the pumpkin flesh with a fork will work just fine, though it will take longer. Pour the puree through a strainer to get rid of any remaining stringy pieces. 

Now it's ready to add incredible flavor to a pumpkin chorizo pizza or a batch of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies! If not using it immediately, your homemade pumpkin puree will keep for one week in the fridge or up to one year in the freezer. Freeze it in Ziploc bags for easy storage.

Pumpkin Chorizo Pizza

Raise your hand if you're still living off of Thanksgiving leftovers! During the weekend, my roommates and I dutifully devoured the best stuff first- mashed potatoes, macaroni & cheese, green bean casserole, and pie (we actually ate the pie for breakfast the next day). Now all that remains is enough turkey for a few sandwiches or salads and the leftover pumpkin puree from the pumpkin pie. Usually, I forget about the pumpkin puree until I find it weeks later, shoved into the back of my fridge and blanketed with mold....I'm not proud. So when I packaged the excess pumpkin puree in a tupperware this year I promised myself I'd use every last spoonful, and I have succeeded!

In my opinion, the best use of pumpkin puree is a glorious, smooth pumpkin pie. After that, I usually resort to pumpkin chocolate chip cookies or stir a few tablespoons into my morning oatmeal. I decided to take pumpkin puree into a completely different direction, not using it for sweets, but for something savory. The obvious answer to my savory pumpkin search is soup, but I wanted to try something a little more adventurous. Let me tell you, I was rewarded! And as will you after you try this Spanish/Mexican take on the classic pepperoni pizza.

Usually I like to make my own pizza crust. I haven't even tried to find yeast in the supermercado yet! For the sake of time and to avoid more grocery store headaches, I used a store bought, par-baked, 12-inch pizza crust. Adjust the amount of sauce and toppings needed for your pizza depending on the size of the crust you're working with.

Slice the onion and bell pepper into thin strips. In a skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and bell pepper and salt and pepper liberally. Cook, stirring occasionally, until very soft 25-30 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside. In a small bowl, stir pumpkin puree, salt, pepper, thyme, and cayenne pepper.

Preheat your oven to the pizza crust's package or recipe instructions. In the same pan you used to cook the onions and bell pepper, on medium-high heat, cook the minced garlic until fragrant. Add the pumpkin puree mixture and chicken stock to the pan and stir to combine. Bring pumpkin sauce to a boil, the remove from heat.

Place pizza dough on a cookie sheet or round pizza pan. Spread the pumpkin sauce on the unbaked pizza crust. 

Top with onions and bell peppers. Thinly slice the chorizo and add to the pizza. Scatter the cheese on top of the pizza and get excited!

Bake according to your pizza crust's packaging or recipe instructions. Try to let cool slightly before diving in!

Pumpkin Chorizo Pizza

Recipe by Sweet & Savory

Ingredients:

12-inch pizza crust (storebought or homemade)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup chicken stock
1 link Spanish chorizo, thinly sliced
1/2 cup grated cheese

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a fry pan over medium heat. Add onion and bell pepper and salt and pepper liberally. Cook until soft, stirring occasionally, 25-30 minutes. Remove from pan.

Preheat your oven according to your pizza crust's packaging or recipe instructions. Combine pumpkin puree, salt, pepper, thyme, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl.

Heat the same pan used for cooking the onions and pepper to medium-high heat. Add the minced garlic and saute until fragrant. Add the pumpkin puree mixture and chicken stock and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat.

Place pizza crust on a cookie sheet or round pizza pan. Spread crust with pumpkin sauce, top with the onions and bell pepper, chorizo slices, and cheese. Bake according to the pizza crust's packaging or recipe instructions.