My summer was full of hustle and bustle, so I’m unusually excited to hunker down for the cold seasons. A few days ago I came across some delicious looking pumpkin chocolate chip shortbread cookies on Etsy, and it inspired me to whip up a batch of my own.  I found a recipe from Adventures in Shaw and decided to try it out.

Of course, I wanted to make mine vegan-style, but the only vegan product I used was margarine. After my first batch, I decided to adjust Shaw’s recipe a bit.  In the following recipe, I have added more flour and sugar, and have cooked a bit longer at a lower temperature, for a more shortbread-esque texture.

Because you have to refrigerate the dough for a couple of hours before baking, it’s a fun recipe to keep in the fridge for fresh cookies throughout the week.

Ingredients ❤ 2 C + 3 Tblsp Flour ❤ 1/4 tsp salt ❤ 1 cup margarine or butter (room temperature) ❤ 2/3 C powdered sugar ❤ 1 tsp vanilla extract ❤ 1 C pumpkin puree ❤ 1 Tblsp pumpkin pie spice (see this post on making your own!) ❤ 1/2 bag dark chocolate chips

❤In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, salt and pumpkin pie spice.  Set aside. In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to beat the marg/butter until it is soft and creamy. Slowly add the powdered sugar and beat until it is fluffy as a cloud.  Begin to add your ‘dry ingredients’ mix a few spoonfuls at a time.  Once your dry ingredients are fully mixed in, add the vanilla and pumpkin puree.  Beat until the dough is sticky.  Fold in the chocolate chips.  Roll your dough into a thick log.  Put it in a tupperware, zip-lock bag or plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator.  Leave it in for at least 2 hours.

❤ Once your dough has done it’s time in the fridge, unwrap it and place it on a cutting board.  Using a non-serated knife, carefully slice the dough into 1/3″ slices.  Be wary of the chocolate chips.  If the dough gets too soft to cut nice rounds, throw it back in the fridge.

❤If you feel so inclined, this is a good time to put your thematic* (theme is optional) cookie cutters to use.  Place the cookies on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.  They won’t spread very much, so you can squeeze them together if necessary.  Place in a preheated 325 degree oven and bake until edges just begin to brown (20-25 mins).  Place immediately onto cookie rack and cool completely before serving.

Happy fall baking!

xo

brittany