sunday baking extravaganza: part three

ok, so as part of my sunday bake-fest, i made these:



pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. i found them in a neighborhood cookbook that my sister, kristin, organized. i would have never thought of putting in oats on my own, but they add a very nice texture and density to an otherwise very airy cookie. they are best before you have to store them in tupperware or otherwise, because they lose their amazing crisp but soft on the inside texture. after covering them, they just become soft. anyway, these are my favorite pumpkin cookies of all time.

1 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. granulated sugar
1 c. canned pumpkin
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 c. old fashioned oats
1 3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (i don't have this so i make it up using cloves, ginger and cinnamon - with a touch of nutmeg)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
chocolate chips

beat together butter and sugars til creamy. add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla; beat well. add combined oats, flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt; mix well. stir in chocolate chips.

drop by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet (or i love, love, love my silpats). bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until light golden brown. cool 1 minute on cookie sheet; remove to wire rack.

i rarely follow a recipe exactly and usually add a little secret ingredient of my own to change things up. the recipe says to cook it longer than 10 minutes, but i find that cooking it more can make them too dry. even if they look undercooked, 10 minutes seems about right, once the cookies have cooled.

let me know if you try any of these recipes and how they turn out. i'd love to hear!