crispy chocolate chip pumpkin cookies

I had a roommate in college that loved chocolate chip pumpkin cookies. I thought they were ok. I ate a few of hers, then made them one time in China, but I just wasn’t a fan. They were the wrong consistency for a cookie. Call it a muffin and I’d be happy. But a cookie?

Then I found this recipe on Guilty Kitchen. Just her description of the issues with traditional pumpkin cookies (the cakey texture!) and her multiple attempts to make the perfect recipe made me realize I had to try her cookies. Even if they required making pumpkin butter. So here is the recipe, in all its tasty glory. It is worth every minute you spend stirring the pumpkin butter on the stove. The texture is perfect!

CRISPY CHOCOLATE CHIP PUMPKIN COOKIES (makes 3 or more dozen)
from Guilty Kitchen

1 cup butter
1 ¼ cups brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin butter
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
2 ½ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamon
½ tsp grated nutmeg
¼ tsp ginger
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp orange zest
1 ½ cups dark chocolate chips or chunks
fine grain sea salt, such as pink Himalayan (optional)

CREAM butter and sugar in medium sized bowl. Add egg, vanilla and pumpkin butter. Mix well.

MIX dry ingredients in separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Add to wet and stir to combine. Stir in orange zest and chocolate chips and set in refrigerator for 1 hour.

DROP cookies onto cookie sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt before baking if desired. Bake at 350°F for 15-18 minutes.